The Black Swan
by Shado Tenshi
Summary: One day assassin apprentice named Cloud finds himself as a SOLDIER recruit, making friends and possibly love. However that love and friendship is tested when his mentor is caught. At the same time the planet needs Her beloved son in order to survive, including one She cast away as a form of punishment. SxC
1. The Beast And The Swan

Shado: It's been a while. Honestly, I was angry one day and opened up a windows document and just wrote. I wrote out all of my anger and it turned into this. Halfway through writing this story, I re-read it. And then I thought, this isn't half bad. So I stuck with it. I hope this will turn out better, for at the moment I'm unsure if I can continue Lost Angel, this story has something that I had been going for that the Lost Angel couldn't reach. I'll try my best to make things work, however I can't make any promises, for this story has so much more potential.

**NOTE:** This story has nothing, and I mean **_nothing_** to do with the movie the Black Swan, or the ballet Swan Lake, despite what the title of this story suggests. The movie may have had some inspiration, but that's it. Trust me, this story is rated M for a reason. There's no ballet dancing, nor is there anything that's related to swans of the sort. I'm merely using the title as an expression. Also, be glad that there will be no psychological drama or such stuff that the movie had. Well...there may be some, but who and what will have to come later.

Anyway, please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter One** – The Beast And The Swan

"_A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow."_

William Shakespeare

=3=

Life was not a luxury for a certain young apprentice. He couldn't afford to stop and gaze at the beautiful scenery as he and his mentor traveled from city to city, town to town. The short young man was in his mid teens, with blond hair that spiked in all directions. He often heard the whispers of _chocobo head_ or _odd child_, as he passed through the streets. The boy wasn't too bothered at all with the whispers of his strange appearance.

But other than the soft, pale and flawless skin, the odd platinum blond hair was the boy's eyes. His eyes were a deep blue, a shade with so much beauty and yet his eyes held so much sadness and hidden torment drew people in. But at the same time the people who were curious at how one so young could hold so much sadness learned very quickly that the boy would not talk. He was taught early on not to dwell too much on the past.

His eyes also happened to be wide and expressive, giving him a younger appearance.

Those eyes were the boy's ultimate weapon. Taking advantage of his petite form and round, natural puppy dog eyes was what he had been taught by his mentor. His mentor, who happened to be the best assassin out there, was an assassin who went by many names.

But now his mentor went by the name of Beast. To the boy, the name made perfect sense. However, to someone who didn't know of his mentor's inner demons, thought the name suited well by appearance itself. In a way it was a strange inside joke between mentor and apprentice.

The boy went by as Swan. An unusual name for an apprentice learning the ways of life as an assassin, but with his graceful moves and his appearance that simply drew people in with their guards down, the name fit him perfectly in a unique way.

Together they call themselves Gunslinger. It was Beast's plan to confuse the public that Gunslinger was one person and not two. This was a useful trick to avoid the Turks of Shin – Ra and any other fool that took up the job to hunt them down. This way if either one of them were to somehow get caught, the other would immediately take action to rescue without attracting too much attention as so the captors won't figure out that their captive had a helper.

It all made perfect sense, for his mentor was the best of the best. Beast was quick to react and always precisely on target when he took aim. This man was almost always silent and preferred to remain in the shadows. It was his way to keep his inner demons under control, and preventing word going around that he was a monster.

Not that the young apprentice ever thought of his mentor as a monster. No, the young apprentice always thought of his mentor as someone who was a savior. This was not the best view of an assassin who was a mentor to the apprentice, but the boy meant it to the depths of his heart.

Beast wasn't the type to take in apprentices, let alone allow a mere _child_ to follow him like a lost puppy. However, the boy had caught his interest, and if one paid very close attention to how they interacted one can conclude that Beast behaved as a protective father over his apprentice.

It was a general rule that a mentor must not take on a parental role of the apprentice. There had been many tragedies concerning mentors who didn't heed this rule and their apprentices turned against them once their guards were down. But for Gunslinger, he couldn't help it.

There were many reasons, and it all stretched back to the first few years he had met the boy. Both remembered that time. It was a time that had been a great tragedy, one that brought them together. And despite the tragedy that plagued the boy with traumatizing images, those same images gave him a reason to live. The boy strived to learn what his mentor knew, and he picked up the lessons quicker than the other very few Beast had taught.

Over time the boy had somehow wormed his way into the assassin's heart, and unintentionally at that. Swan was naturally polite, and he showed so much potential that on many occasions his talents surprised the elder. In a matter of a few years Beast began to give the boy nicknames, earning a pout and an annoyed glare that never ceased to amuse him.

Despite their differences Beast and Swan became very close. If one was blind, they would have thought that the two were father and son. Although they're not related by blood neither of them cared as long their as world wasn't interrupted by the Turks or anyone else hunting after them. For Vincent Valentine wouldn't have woken up from his nightmares if it weren't for Cloud Strife, and Cloud wouldn't have survived the critical stages of his childhood coming to an abrupt and violent stop without Vincent.

They owed a debt to each other, and through that a special bond was formed. But both knew that all good things must come to an end. They could do nothing but ready themselves for when the time comes for their separation, and hope and wish they wouldn't have to helplessly witness the other's execution if they were ever caught.

=3=

Cloud stood as still as a statue in the comforts of a dark alley. He and Vincent were on another mission, one that was to bring an end to a man with high authority and abuses his power. The man was a mayor of Kalm, and he was doing everything in his power to transform the innocent little town into a city as successful and powerful as Midgar.

The calling cards for Gunslinger were to target and wipe out anyone who had high power and abused it. Another well known fact to the public was that Gunslinger also answered distress signals if there were a swarm of monsters attacking a well populated area. In the public eye Gunslinger was a strange vigilante that had no face. For all the years Gunslinger had made itself known, the assassin(s) never allowed themselves to be seen. Gunslinger managed to slip through every trap the Turks created, and avoided all cameras and video cameras as if the assassin had a sixth sense of where they were.

Cloud always found it funny how the public was divided about the ever so elusive assassin Gunslinger. For one, no one realized that Gunslinger was actually two men instead of one. And two, some thought of them as a hero while others viewed them as a murdering pest.

It was true that they murdered people, but Vincent had a sense of honor and justice in mind. He accepted the hires only if a whole town was going to be effected, when there was an illegal slave or sex trade, or if an innocent family was being stalked and/or threatened by a creeper. Half of the time all they had to do to their targets was twist their minds in order for them to see what they were doing was wrong. The ones that cracked under Vincent's words quickly ended their own life, while the stubborn ones required an immediate elimination.

Cloud wasn't at all bothered of this way of life. Compared to what he had seen when he was younger, before Vincent took him under his wing, witnessing the deaths of their targets was nothing. In a strange way Cloud believed that he was destined to be taken in and raised by Vincent, who he admired because the man went out of his way to save a young child. The blond believed that if he had not been raised by Vincent and still survived the _incident_ then he would have grown up with a deep hatred for everything around him.

And for just that reason alone was enough for Cloud to stay on track. Vincent taught him well in many other things than tracking down and killing targets. His mentor taught him how to read and write, as well as educated him on honorable principles, blending into certain environments such as the difference of clothing of choice in towns and cities, and recently he was being taught on other means of getting close to a target.

One of them is the old and cliché art of seducing. Vincent had told him the steps and actions needed to seduce a target. Luckily, to both of them, his mentor specifically ordered him not to allow the target to go any further than groping and kissing. Cloud understood that Vincent's fatherly instincts made themselves known only if he was in danger. Apparently losing his virginity to some scum was part of it, and it was one of the few objectives of his father's over protectiveness Cloud would tolerate.

And tonight was going to be the Swan's first attempt at this new means of getting close to a target. He was nervous, with the butterflies swarming in his stomach, but that was normal. Cloud always had the swelling of nervousness before every mission. He was anxious to get this mission over and done with.

However he had to wait. The plan was that after the mayor left the townhouse with a meeting with the other men with his forceful tactics of severe intimidation over the people of Kalm to go along with his plans, the Swan will come up to the man and entice him enough to let his guard down to pull a knife to the neck. From there Beast will spring from the shadows across the street and finish off the work.

If all went well, that is. If the target was somehow stronger than Cloud, Vincent would have to take a serious risk and take aim. Cloud had been shot before; the wounds were easily treated with his mentor playing doctor/overprotective father, but he had never been shot from Cerberus. Cerberus was a gun that had its own class, and if used properly by an experienced shooter it could kill two with one shot.

There was a very good reason why Vincent Valentine never allowed himself to be seen. Only Cloud knew his face, and understood and accepted his mentor for what he was, and even accepted the inner demons to an extent. It was clear from the beginning they took a strange liking to him, however Cloud was always cautious each time one of them took over Vincent's body just to have his attention.

The blond was brought out of his thoughts when men began to walk out of the townhouse. From the alleyway he was hidden in, Cloud had a perfect view of the faces of each man as he stepped out. The men went about their ways and headed towards home. The last man to walk out was, to Cloud's luck, the mayor.

'_No other witnesses to take into account. This means I have free reign to experiment on what method is best for me.'_ Cloud didn't like the idea of exploring such acts, but at the same time it was better to learn what he felt most comfortable with as early on as possible on these types of missions.

Inhaling, the blond casually yet sensually made his way towards the target. The mayor stopped in his tracks when he came into view, eyeing the lithe and beautiful body. Even though he seemed interested, the mayor still held an air of caution.

"What's a beauty like you doing out here in the middle of the night?" The man eyed Cloud's uncovered midsection with a hunger that the blond did not like.

Swallowing his fear, Cloud laid out a charming smile.

"I was waitin' out 'ere for ya, mayor. You are the mayor, righ'? If yer the wrong man, then I've been told wrong about what ya looked like. " The blond was purposefully speaking like any other concubine would.

"And what would you give to me if I was the mayor? I admit you've got the looks. However you're rather small for a whore." The disgusting hands of the target began to roam about the very tempting body.

Cloud instinctively leaned against the other's body, rubbing his knee against the man's groin while sensually feeling about the mayor's chest and shoulders. The blond held back his emotions and calmed himself down by letting out a giggle.

'_Just a little bit longer, he's almost ready for Vincent to make his move.'_

"I happen to enjoy takin' it from men with power. Gives me a thrill, it does. An' I know I'm small, but it makes me nice an' tight for a good hard poundin'. An' I'm flexible too, that I am. I can do what'eva position ya wanted." Cloud couldn't believe what he was saying, but the words came so naturally to him he didn't protest. The target was still a little tense. He needed the mayor to relax just a tad bit more.

So to add security to his words the blond slowly guided one of the mayor's hands to his ass. The target began groping rather hard, with one digit fingering the entrance through the rough fabric. Cloud rubbed back against the hand with a low, breathy moan.

It was enough. The target threw caution to the wind and proceeded to grope and roam his new prize despite the fact they were standing in the middle of the street. However this experience had now made Cloud semi – hard, despite his mental attempts not to be aroused. And despite the hormones raging through his body, the blond managed to reach for his hidden knife and held the sharp edge against the other man's throat.

Before the mayor could react, the silhouette of a shadowy figure sprang out of nowhere and the last thing he heard was the sound of thunder.

=3=

Vincent couldn't believe how well his apprentice had done in this mission. The boy's acting the part was very convincing, and if he had not known Cloud personally, he would have thought the boy really was a concubine. His fatherly instincts flared, but the assassin held them back.

At this moment they were ten miles away from Kalm. Beast used his speed as an advantage and quickly got them out of the town before anyone could do so much as peer out the window to see what had happened.

"I believe we've found a talent of yours. However, it is one that I'd rather not see you put to use too much." Vincent commented bitterly.

"I highly agree. To tell you the truth, the words came to me so naturally that I was afraid." Cloud nodded. The blond shivered from the disturbing events a few moments earlier. It was enough for his aroused member to deflate and cool off.

"Hn."

'_It could be because he grew up in a town that accepted such behavior. Witnessing it without realizing what it was probably made an imprint in his head.'_ Vincent kept this theory to himself. It was strict between the two to never bring up the past.

However this produced a problem. It wasn't the first that had occurred over the years of teaching the boy, but this was definitely one of the most serious.

If behaving like a whore had been imprinted in his head from when he was a child, then what else had been imprinted without his knowledge? Vincent knew to some extent of the secret horrors under the surface of the town Cloud was born and raised from. He knew that Cloud had no one to call a friend, and therefore he did a lot of exploring to make up for his loneliness.

And curiosity could lead to some very nasty results. If the boy had seen enough of the wrong doings, he would have the impression that it was natural. However, Cloud still understood the difference between right and wrong through his training.

But it still wasn't enough to convince the elder. As if sensing his mentor's discomfort, Cloud tensed and cautiously took a step toward the other.

"Father?" The blond nervously reached out to the elder man.

In a fraction of a millisecond Vincent sent a powerful kick his way. Cloud half expected a sudden attack, this had happened enough times over the years when his mentor felt uncomfortable about his progression.

But there were other times when his mentor simply attacked at random, in means to remind Cloud that an assassin is not to be treated lightly. Vincent would never let down on his power and speed, which was a major disadvantage for Cloud.

However the purpose was not to match his mentor's power and speed. Instead the sole purpose was to stand his ground and use the tricks he had learned against Vincent. Over the years Cloud learned that if he used the size difference between them, he at least had some chance of taking Vincent by surprise.

Cloud easily dodged the kick and sent one of his own. Vincent anticipated the move and grabbed hold of the boy's ankle and dragged him closer. It was a move the blond did not expect, and with blind panic he thrashed with his free leg and arms.

"Rule number one, never _ever_ panic." Vincent recited as he crawled on top of the smaller body, pinning the thin arms above the fluffy blond head.

Cloud scowled deeply, silently cursing himself for his mistake. He had not made a mistake since he had first become an apprentice. Vincent was one to be harsh at times, and it was a lesson Cloud learned the hard way.

'_Damn it, how could I have been so stupid? He won't willingly harm me!'_ The blond continued to struggle even as pain seared through his shoulders. With a surprised gasp Cloud stilled, his extra limbs stretched for the first time in about two weeks.

Vincent paused to admire the angelic wings. No matter how many times he saw them, they never ceased to grow more beautiful. The soft, white feathers seemed to soak in the moonlight as they shimmered with delicacy.

At the same time the assassin knew that despite their innocent appearance, these wings can break a man's neck with one smack. Vincent learned the fact the hard way when by accident one of the wings rammed him in the ribs and nearly broke a few. It hurt to breathe for nearly a month, and since then Vincent kept a good eye on the wings whenever they were out.

They didn't understand why the boy had them. All they knew was that the wings were there, and they wouldn't stop _growing_. The wings first made themselves known when Cloud threw a tantrum when he was twelve. He was so frustrated that he couldn't get a move right, that he let it all out with a scream.

Vincent nearly had a heart attack when he saw three foot long white wings pop out of the boy's back. They were very tiny. However Cloud was smaller than any other boy his age, so the wings fit proportionally with his body. Since then Vincent taught Cloud how to retract them into his body and to some extent, how to fly.

The problem with wings so small they weren't strong enough to carry the full weight of the boy. Yet as the years passed the wings seemed to grow more and more. Cloud had a few growth spurts himself, but the wings were now so big they seemed ridiculous to be a part of a short teenager.

'_**I believe it's time for us to give him actual flying lessons. His wings should be strong enough.'**_ Chaos commented.

'_Not now. I want to confirm something first.'_

'_**I know exactly what you're doing. You're going to need my help. You'll crack under his ridiculous puppy eyes.'**_

"Father…?" Cloud looked up with wide, innocent blue eyes.

Vincent felt his resolve crumble at the slightest bit. He hated to admit it, but the demon was right. Giving Chaos a mental nod, demon and human synchronized. Red and black leathery wings outstretched from the once red cape as red eyes burned a bright amber.

Cloud's heart leaped a few times in his chest. He didn't mind the other demons too much, but Chaos was a different story altogether. The few times the demon took control of a sleeping Vincent, Chaos enjoyed using clever words by means to torture the boy.

"Calm down, Swan." The voices of Vincent and Chaos converged into one, effectively calming the blond down. If there was even a hint of his mentor among the possession, the boy wasn't afraid too much.

"…What are you going to do?" Cloud tensed.

"Tell us, Swan, what would you do if you ever found yourself in a similar type of situation as this?" The possessed assassin whispered into the apprentice's ear. "Will you use seduction to escape?"

Cloud's heart stopped. Was this really what it's about? It seemed a bit too forward for Vincent. Usually the elder would have the blond figure out the reason behind a test. Then again his mentor was being half possessed by Chaos.

"Well, Swan? We're growing impatient. What's your answer?" The elder pressed.

Shakily exhaling, Cloud leaned forward to place small, light kisses along a pale neck and chin. The possessed man stopped moving, both human and demon surprised by the act of submission from the stubborn pupil.

The elder didn't move let alone so much as _breathe_ while the boy slowly led a trail of kisses towards pale lips. This was a moment Vincent had been dreading. If their lips met there was no going back. The elder had no choice but to abandon his apprentice. The pain of such a thought cut deep, even Chaos seemed disturbed.

'_**Fuck this. Pull away host.'**_ The demon hissed.

Vincent tensed, fighting the demon off from having complete control over his body. Cloud stopped with their lips mere centimeters apart. Vincent focused on the boy's face, taking notice the trembling lower lip and the large expressive eyes shut tightly closed.

"I can't…I can't do this." Cloud whimpered as he pulled away, turning his head to the side in shame.

"Why not? You don't like the idea of a demon taking away your first kiss, Swan?" Vincent taunted.

"No. It's not that. You're my father. I can't do something like this to you." Cloud replied with true honesty.

Both human and demon immediately felt relieved, as if some great weight had been lifted off their back. Vincent's body relaxed as the demon retreated back into their shared mind. The leathery wings transformed back into the red cape, crimson bleeding over the yellow gaze.

"And what if you had someone to call a friend?" The assassin questioned.

"I won't do it to them either. Friends are rare in this world, but I've found one in you, father." Cloud replied, barely in a whisper.

Vincent found himself cracking a true smile. He reached for the fluffy mess of hair with his human hand and ruffled through the spikes in a reassuring motion.

"I apologize, for putting you through that. I was afraid you'd take your new talent on those who would be close to you." Vincent said in a gentle tone.

Cloud furrowed his eyebrows at his mentor's choice of words. There was no one who was close to the blond, no one other than the man who he considered as his father and savior. Blue eyes opened to peer up at Vincent with confusion.

"What are you saying, Father? You sound as if you're leaving." Cloud did not want to be separated by this man by all means. Vincent was his world, his father, his teacher. He was the only lifeline Cloud could cling on to.

"You need a better experience in a social life. This will only be temporarily. Also, I'd like for you to find someone who could teach you the ways of the sword. Don't think I've noticed you're uncomfortable handling guns. You're a good shooter, but I can tell you'd rather have something with a little more feel." Vincent explained.

"But I…"

"I'm not going to abandon you, Cloud. We may not be blood related, but that does not mean I don't see you as a son. But as long as you keep following me during your training, your world won't expand. Your world would be as small as your wings once were when they first sprang out of your back. That is a lonely and sad road I do not wish you to follow." The elder was speaking with such sincerity, and with so many words when the man was usually silent came to as a shock to the blond.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them. Vincent got off the apprentice and helped the boy to an upright position. He knew it was a shock of the idea to be separated when they had lived together for many years. Vincent knew he was the center of Cloud's world, and as much as he prided to keep it that way, he knew logically it can't stay that way.

Vincent watched as the beautiful wings fluttered a bit, releasing the bit of dirt from lying down. The rustling of feathers seemed to put the gunman at ease.

"…How long are we going to be separated?" Cloud asked once the initial shock dissipated.

"Probably for a year or two. When the time comes that I believe you're ready for this new bridge of your training, I will tell you how you will be contacting me when you feel like you can return or if there's an emergency. But until the time comes for you to go your own way, let's see how strong your wings are." Vincent added the last part with a smile.

At the mention of his wings, Cloud's head snapped up to meet his mentor's gaze. Was Vincent suggesting what he thought he was?

"You mean…?"

"I think it's about time I give you flying lessons." Vincent confirmed.

In an instant the blond leaped from the ground he was sitting on to his mentor with a tight embrace. The wings showed the same excitement with gentle flaps.

"Thank you! I've been waiting for these lessons in what seems like forever! I can't wait to fly, I'm so excited father!" Cloud grinned from ear to ear.

Vincent only smiled at the happiness coming off of his apprentice like a radiant glow. It was a rare sight for Cloud to be truly happy, and the image of the boy smiling widely would forever be burned into his memory.

=3=

Back in Kalm, a silent and observant man examined the dead body in the morgue. He had been watching the now dead mayor for the past few months, trying to eradicate any evidence of the man abusing his power. The investigation had gone exceptionally well.

But now it was all ruined. The mayor was dead. The cause of death was declared as a shot to the back of the head at point blank range.

He of course witnessed it, but all he could see was a flash of red and black shadow before it disappeared. Before the echo of the shot was registered in the witness' head, the mayor he had been stalking and planning his public demise fell to the ground.

Not even a second later the attacker and the blond boy was gone.

Now that he had seen the gunshot himself there was no doubt who the attacker was. He had seen the same gunshot wound enough times to identify the killer as none other than Gunslinger.

But what about the boy? He did act like a whore looking for a good time, but he disappeared at the same time as the attacker. Was the boy somehow used as a distraction, so the murderer could come in close enough for the killing shot?

These were rather disturbing questions.

If Gunslinger in reality wasn't just one person, but two, then there were serious complications to the investigation on the evasive assassin. It would explain why no one's been able to catch a simple glimpse of Gunslinger, and why he seemed to use only one shot to kill off the targets.

However, there was no physical proof that this theory was correct. He only saw what he saw from a distance, in almost complete darkness. He didn't exactly see if the blond had been killed along with the mayor, and had been dragged away for some unknown reason by Gunslinger.

Or maybe the assassin wanted the boy as a personal award. Being hired to kill off the mayor, which would have taken some planning and stalking the man without anyone, even him, who was a Turk, didn't know. And then the opportunity came, however the boy was a witness. So there could be three different ways this could have gone for the boy.

One, either the boy was with Gunslinger, and was part of the deal on killing their targets. This could mean that Gunslinger was two people in order to protect themselves from people hunting them down. It was actually a good tactic to use to avoid being caught and used by means to confuse everyone.

Two, if Gunslinger was actually one person, saw the boy as a threat. He had a witness, which was something that had never happened before. When Gunslinger took out a target he had been hired for, no one else was dragged into the deal. So the idea of this theory hitting the mark was very low.

This brings the Turk to the last theory. Gunslinger saw a chance to kill two birds with one stone. Eliminate the target once his guard was down, and then steal the boy for his own pleasures. The assassin was living a very stressful job, one that was too stressful to just walk into a harem to let all of it out on some concubine.

But even so this was not normal behavior for Gunslinger. There had been no records of anyone going missing before or after Gunslinger killed a target he'd been hired to kill. So in a way this theory actually being true was also small.

Suddenly his phone rang. Knowing who it was the man sighed as he pulled the device out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Tseng here."

"I've just received news that the target is dead."

"Yes."

"...Was it Gunslinger?"

The Turk paused.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Tseng remained silent.

"Did you see his face?"

"No. He moved too fast, almost inhumanly so."

"Faster than a First?" The other man inquired.

"Possibly faster than the general."

"That's a serious observation if it's considered as one."

"I don't lie."

It was true. Tseng never lied on or off the job. Though these days he seemed to be more on the job than usual, with the sudden loss of many of the members of the Turks he had been working overtime and taking on two investigations at the same time. He didn't think that the two would ever cross paths until now. He should have seen it coming.

"Is there anything else to report?"

"…Before the mayor was shot, he was stopped on the way home by a young concubine."

"Why bring this up?"

"The boy disappeared at the same time as the killer."

"…"

Tseng took the other's silence as a cue to continue.

"Gunslinger either perceived the boy as a threat and took him away, or decided to give into the simple instincts to dominate someone. However I see those two theories rather low on the scale."

"You mean to say that Gunslinger could be not one, but two people?"

"I can't confirm that theory just yet. But if a body doesn't turn up then we have no reason but to conclude that yes, Gunslinger is actually the work of two people. Possibly Gunslinger is an assassin taking on an apprentice." Tseng replied.

There was a pause between the two men.

"Tseng."

"Yes."

"Don't tell anyone else about this information. We may have just caught the snake by the tail, its best we let them think they've gotten away with this murder."

"Understood."

"In the meantime I think it's about time you've returned. We're getting ready to bring in new recruits. The Turks need at least one handsome young face to look up to as a leader. Get some rest tonight, and then return to Midgar as soon as you can tomorrow."

Tseng raised a brow.

"Is it that time of the year already?"

The man on the other line laughed heartily.

"I think you've spent too much time away from Shin–Ra. You've almost forgotten it's time for the fresh meat to flow in."

"Even so, that doesn't mean we're going to lose this year. There are fewer Turks than there are SOLDIERS. I'm not going to allow the Turks to die out." Tseng allowed the smallest of a smile to sneak through his mask.

It was a game of sorts between them. It wasn't harmless, and there were no hard feelings when by the end of the year for the new recruits to be tested for either the Turk or SOLDIER program and one of them lost. The game was to see who would have the most recruits, and actually survive. Right now the Turks were losing numbers due to a higher amount of monsters running around rampant.

"So it's game on, Turk."

"Game on, Director Lazard."

Both men hung up.

=3=

Shado: Yep. Like I said earlier, this story has a lot more potential compared to Lost Angel. I'd really like to continue. And just as a warning, I'll be starting college next week. So there will be times that will be a long wait to update this story. I will try my best to stick with this one, and it will be hard. But I'd actually like to finish this one.

And with that, I end my commentary here. Please leave a review! A writer always appreciates feedback and opinions. And it's one of the reasons why I keep going with my work too! Gives me inspiration as they say x3


	2. Farewell Melody

Shado: Well I finally finished it. It's rather long, possibly longer than the first chapter. But I really wanted this story to get to the ShinRa part. And just as a warning, this chapter has some angsty moments. However there's a few surprises, so hopefully everything's all even now.

Disclaimer: Does it look like I own FFVII? Sadly, no. I currently don't own a computer either.

Also, just to point out, I named the title of this chapter after one of the songs in Crisis Core. I happened to be listening to it while writing this chapter up, so the name stuck.

**Chapter Two** – Farewell Melody

"_We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails."_

Dolly Parton

=3=

"Father, I thought I was going to fly. So why am I only stretching my wings out? I want to fly!" Cloud pouted in disappointment. It was the morning after the successful assassination of the mayor of Kalm, and the blond had been eager for his first flying lessons.

So far Vincent had been drilling him with stretching and small flaps. The blond was frustrated to say the least.

"For a first timer it's critical that your wings aren't tense or they won't flap or develop properly for flight." Vincent replied as a matter of fact-ly.

"Well I guess that makes sense…" Still, that didn't settle with Cloud's disappointment.

Sensing this, Vincent decided to change things up a bit. He felt Chaos stir, silently agreeing without his host even asking the question. As Cloud tucked his wings closer to his body, he noticed with pure fascination as the red cape transformed into leathery wings. When he was younger, Cloud used to envy Vincent's wings.

But now he had his own wings, although he'd rather have the color of the feathers black. At night the white feathers shimmered and reflected the moonlight, which would give away their location if they were being hunted. There was nothing he could do with the plain white color, no matter how many times he wished. Now and then Vincent would give compliments on how beautiful the wings were, which helped him feel much better about himself.

The red wings stretched in the morning sun. Cloud watched the leathery limbs with awe. There was no doubt in his mind that any other person would cringe in fear at the bat like wings. However the blond thought the complete opposite.

He had always admired them, he had never been afraid at the sight of not so angelic wings. It could be because Cloud admired Vincent from the first day they met, although he could admit that he was only a tad bit afraid the first few minutes. When Vincent proved to be non – threatening, admiration took over the fear. The admiration and love for his father ran deep, although technically Vincent wasn't his biological father.

To Cloud's surprise, when their eyes met, they were not the bright amber signature of Chaos. In fact, Vincent's human body remained intact, only the wings of the strongest of the four demons residing within him revealed that he was there.

"Surprised, _chocobo_?" To the boy's shock, Vincent actually cracked a smile.

And he made a joke.

"…Who are you and what have you done to father?" Cloud answered playfully.

"I'm in a playful mood…now are you going to stand there, or are you going to show us what your wings are capable of?" The assassin questioned the boy, his red wings tensing, ready for flight.

With a smile of his own, Cloud began to flap his wings. The strokes of the ever growing appendages were hard, as they tried to adjust to carrying his weight and gain altitude. The blond managed to beat his wings up and feet off the ground for a few seconds before landing again.

"Jump, your legs should give you a launching advantage. Pay attention to the amount of air rushing into your wings, and use it to your advantage to lift yourself up." Vincent advised after Cloud failed a couple more times.

The blond was disappointed in himself about his failures. But he knew that he had to keep trying. It was good for him that he had someone like Vincent to guide him to use his wings properly. Although their wings were drastically different, they were built for the same thing: flight.

"Feel every muscle and every movement they make, feel your feathers grasp for the wind. For you, your feathers play an important key to what direction the wind blows, and at what speed. Think of your wings as extended arms built to glide and climb the skies." Vincent continued with giving advice, his patience for the young one was endless.

It was Cloud's first attempt in flying of course.

"What about your wings, father? They don't have feathers." Cloud's curiosity won him over as he landed to catch his breath.

"The leather membranes are sensitive to the heat and cold. I can sense warm or cold air currents, and take flight in that path to gain altitude. If there is none, however, my wings are strong enough to lift my body from the ground." The elder informed.

"Tired already, pupil?"

The white wings tensed, feathers ruffled at the taunting. Although Cloud hid his annoyance, his wings gave his emotions away. Sheer determination filled innocent blue eyes, and Cloud leapt off the ground and thrust his wings in a strong stroke. To Vincent the lift off was perfect, however after a few more beats with the wings Cloud began to fly awkwardly and swayed from one side to the other.

The young teen didn't know what to do, his eyes widened and heart rate increased as panic began to set in. As if sensing Cloud's panic, the elder assassin tensed his body, ready to take flight if the boy fell.

"Keep your body balanced. Move your body from side to side only if you want to turn or dive. If you want to go straight, then stay absolutely still. Your wings will know what to do." Vincent warned.

Panic ebbed away into concentration. Cloud's body relaxed and straightened himself out. Almost instantly his wings stopped flapping frantically. It took the blond a few moments to realize that he was gliding in a wind current some ten feet off the ground.

"Look, father! I'm flying!" Cloud shouted his excitement, nearly losing balance from his delight.

"Yes. Now let's see you turn left." Vincent was suddenly flying below him, leather wings riding the same air current as the pupil's.

Cloud did as his mentor instructed. Half the time he didn't know what he was doing, but he rode out on his instincts. And just as Vincent said, his wings knew what to do. They just needed to have a little practice.

The flying lessons had continued on for the rest of the day. Vincent taught the boy how to land, dive, even a few fighting sessions aiming the wings to strike at certain spots of opponent's body. But what Cloud loved most of all that day, was when the sun was just starting to set.

Vincent wanted to land before dusk settled in, or it'll be too dark to land safely. But for the last few minutes Cloud gazed at the land below, captivated at the sight. This was the moment the blond had _dreamed_ about for years.

As he soared high above the ground, nearly touching the clouds, he never felt so _free_. It was as if all the stress of hiding, running, and hoping his world with Vincent would be safe, didn't matter anymore. Cloud felt so free, with the sight of the beautiful landscape below in the sunset. He was finally flying, and it felt so much better than what he had dreamed of for so long.

Tears silently fell, disappearing the moment they appeared. At this moment Cloud allowed himself to cry. For all the years he had been living with Vincent, the blond held back the tears. Not once had he cried, even when he had been plagued with nightmares of his hometown being torn to pieces by monsters.

Now at a moment of weakness Cloud let it all go. He didn't even notice Vincent flying closer, silently observing.

At first Vincent thought he was imagining things, but at closer inspection he knew he wasn't. The boy was crying. It came to such a shock that the ex–Turk didn't know what to think.

He remembered once, telling the boy that it was okay to cry. But the boy had been so stubborn that he refused to let the tears flow. Vincent didn't pressure Cloud, partly because he thought it was the boy's way of moving on, and partly because he knew one day it would all burst out.

Vincent didn't expect that a simple act of flying would help break the dam that Cloud had built for so many years.

The sunlight was almost gone. Vincent silently urged them downward, the boy obediently following. When they landed the elder man released a small sigh of relief as the wings transformed back into his red cape. Vincent had always feared that Chaos would take control of his body when the wings were out.

He watched as his pupil landed perfectly, his tired wings folded and disappeared into small shoulders. Vincent blinked in surprise as the tears still flowed. Cloud's lower lip trembled in fear and humiliation. He never wanted to appear weak in front of his mentor.

Sensing the new discomfort, Vincent motioned the boy to come closer. Still trembling, Cloud did so, staring fearfully at the ground. To their surprise the elder man pulled the boy to his chest, cape surrounding the small body in comfort. Vincent's human hand gently ruffled the blond spikes.

"It's okay to cry, Cloud. Crying is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength." Vincent spoke softly as they sat down.

Cloud's lower lip trembled even more, before he whimpered and let it all out. He didn't wail, or any other sound like a child would. The blond let out a few whimpers now and then, when the constricting pain in his chest became too much. The tears never seemed to be endless, and Vincent didn't seem to mind that his torso was currently being used as a pillow.

This felt a little awkward to Vincent. He'd never been in this situation before. However he wasn't one to turn the boy away when he obviously needed some comfort.

'_**You're such a good father.'**_ Chaos commented with a chuckle that questionably sounded like a growl.

'_Shut up, demon.'_

'_**No, I mean it. The boy needed to let it all out. Better now before you send him off some place and have no one to turn to.'**_ Chaos snorted unhappily.

The other three grumbled in agreement. Over the years each of them had grown to like the boy. Of the four demons Galian was the most protective, almost disturbingly so. If Cloud somehow found himself in trouble, Hell Masker makes a rather noisily request to tear apart whoever harmed or cornered the blond. Death Gigas was usually silent, but now and then the giant would grunt in agreement with one of the other demons, usually Chaos.

Chaos was a whole different matter, however. The demon had an interest in Cloud, and Vincent wasn't sure exactly what 'kind' of interest the demon had. From the beginning Vincent had to stay on his toes to prevent Chaos from doing anything that could traumatize the poor boy more than he had already been through. Eventually Chaos' attempts to take over died down, however the ex–Turk still kept a wary eye over the demon when strange events occur.

One can never put their guard down with Chaos, who was naturally sneaky and curious, not to mention he was an opportunist to the extreme. Somehow along the way the demon developed a strange sense of humor.

Vincent was brought out of his nostalgia when he realized that everything was quiet. Looking down he realized the boy had fallen asleep, curled up against him. The corners of the elder's mouth tugged in a small, but fond smile.

Even though he found Chaos annoying as hell, he still had his moments. Vincent knew that come by tomorrow the boy will feel much better. And although it pained him, Vincent will then have to search for a place to send the boy. It would only be for a couple of years or so, which wasn't all that long to the elder.

Vincent only dreaded one thing. He knew it was the time of year for new recruits in Shin–Ra, and he feared the idea of Cloud applying for SOLDIER. He knew for a long time the boy had the potential with swords, and despite his small body the boy could take on anyone twice his size and beat them to the ground with ease.

He didn't fear this path because of the popularity towards Cloud, and by some small chance a slip up would occur and his secret as an assassin pupil would leak out. No, it was not that. Vincent knew for a fact Cloud would rather die in order to keep the secret safe. Which of course he won't allow, but still, this was based on the boy's word.

He wasn't afraid that Cloud would be hurt, or bullied for his size, the boy could take care of himself. And although Vincent wasn't quite sure why, but Cloud's wounds never stuck around for very long, even the few serious ones he had over the years.

No, it was not any of the usual fears any father would have. Vincent dreaded this path because he knew, without a doubt, that _that_ man would take an interest with Cloud. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Cloud was special in his own way. And the fact he has talent won't help matters either.

He was afraid Cloud would be used, experimented, and tortured in every way imaginable.

It'd be one more sin to burden this old man's heart, when it was already shrouded in darkness.

=3=

They didn't know why, or how, but Cloud's wings held a new surprise for them. Vincent questioned whether the boy was human. It wasn't the first time he pondered over this, however he never took it seriously until now. Meanwhile the blond was confused as how this had been possible.

It all started when they woke up to the sound of a monster that was roaming about in their supplies. Vincent was the first to wake up, immediately followed by the blond. Both sprang up with great speed, gathering their weapons at hand and began to take aim and fire.

There were four of them; the leader had been scavenging through their food supply while the others circled around the camp. Beast and Swan recognized these monsters within seconds.

These were the same type of monsters that destroyed and slaughtered Cloud's hometown.

For ten years they hadn't encountered any monsters that appeared similar to the creatures that haunted Cloud. This was the first time they've actually fought the horrible monsters, the last time they ran and hid in the dense forest that surrounded Nibelheim.

The creatures were roughly as tall as Vincent, who was considerably tall himself. They had the appearance of a wolf however they had sharp claws as opposed to paws, legs thin and bird like in appearance. Their tails were long with a poisonous dart at the tip.

At where snouts should be, instead were sharp beaks. When those beaks grabbed hold of someone, there was no chance of escape. There were only feathers at the top of the head and down the neck, where feathers met fur.

And for some odd reason their fur color was blue while the feathered head ranged from red or green, depending if they were male or female. At a certain light, the fur seemed a more blue violet. In the shadows they melted and blended in perfectly. And they were quick on their feet like cheetahs.

Vincent had just finished off one of the monsters and was about to go for the leader, when the alpha leaped over him. The gunman's heart stopped when he realized the alpha was going for Cloud. Vincent whirled around in time to see what he could only describe as a transformation.

The blond cried in fear, his wings burst out of his shoulders in reaction. In what seemed like slow motion the beautiful white feathers fell, leaving behind black feathers in their wake. Once all the white feathers were off, they stopped in mid air, surrounding Cloud in a white feathery veil.

Then the feathers were horizontal, now covered in ice. Vincent briefly realized that the boy had somehow casted blizzard on the feathers, turning them into ice shards that could pierce skin and possibly bone. With a beat of the black wings, the feathered shards soared through the air.

Vincent had to dodge with a roll to avoid a hit from a few of them. Most of the shards had been aimed at the monsters around them. One of the monsters was seriously injured, and the alpha had a limp in its right foreleg.

The elder tensed, ready to attack if the monsters were going to keep going. The alpha surprised him at the amount of intelligence it had, for it backed off with a call for the others to follow. It knew they couldn't win, and so the alpha took the chance and escaped with its remaining followers limping behind.

At one point the alpha paused, glancing over Vincent's and Cloud's forms, as if memorizing the ones held responsible for all this trouble. And with the snort, the alpha turned and leads his pack to safety.

Once he knew they were gone, Vincent turned his attention to Cloud. The boy was staring at his wings with wide eyes, confused and awe struck at the same time.

When the elder moved closer that Cloud finally looked up at his mentor, eyebrows furrowed and a frown was taking shape.

"Father…what just happened?"

For once in his life time Vincent didn't have an answer. His crimson gaze fixed on the black wings, as if they had sprouted for the first time.

=3=

All right, so, not only did they learn Cloud's wings could 'transform', the boy could also use magic. What struck Vincent was that there had been no evidence of Cloud having the capability of using magic. No matter how hard he looked back, there was no hint, no warning signs that Cloud can cast elementals. And it would seem that ice was his specialty.

Considering where the boy was born and raised, Vincent wasn't all the surprised about the ice part of this mystery.

Then something else seemed to have given Vincent a slap in the face. His thoughts were wandering about Cloud's magic, when he realized just _how could he use magic without materia?_

This was where Vincent seriously considered that Cloud was in fact, not human. But how? The boy was born and built like a human, only he had two extra limbs that happened to be wings and he can use magic without materia, when he had never even _used_ or _knew_ what magic was.

Oh, right. Vincent wasn't exactly human either. He hadn't been normal for the past twenty years or so.

But there were so many differences between him and Cloud, which Vincent wondered if the boy had actually been born this way. If so, then what exactly was he? The only answer the gunman could come up with was that Cloud is a Cetra.

He doubted it. Then again Vincent knew very little of the Cetra race. He'd have to dig up some research. However it'd have to be done while Cloud was training elsewhere. Speaking of, he'll have to come up with some sort of plan as to where to send Cloud to. Too much confusing things going on!

"Um, father? That alpha destroyed our food supply." The blond spoke nervously.

Vincent inwardly sighed.

"I suppose we'll have to get more. You'll have to head back to Kalm though."

"I'll fly there." Cloud nodded, gathering up their saved up gil and urging his wings out. They were back to their natural shimmering white.

In a heartbeat the blond took off, leaving Vincent to ponder over the confusing questions once more.

=3=

Within no time Cloud made it into Kalm. He landed a few miles away so he could tuck away his wings into his shoulders then safely walk the rest of the way. Somehow there had been no contact with any other monsters along the way. But when he arrived he came upon the scene of a few Turks and SOLDIER cadets roaming about.

They were here to investigate the mayor's murder, Cloud concluded.

Calming his heartbeat, the blond made his way towards the market. None of them seemed to have taken any notice of him, despite the fact his hair would make him stick out in a crowd.

As he was buying the food, collecting them in a little basket that somehow survived the ordeal with the monsters, Cloud felt a little more relaxed. Everyone thought he was part of the town, which the residents would assume for they had seen him a number of times over the years. Kalm just happened to be one of the few places Vincent liked to visit frequently.

However Cloud's relaxed nature was short lived. Just as he was about to head back to the where he walked into Kalm he was stopped by a smooth, alluring voice.

"Excuse me, but where exactly are you going, little chocobo?"

Cloud's heart froze. He looked up to meet a curious gaze. His deep ocean blue eyes met calculating blue grey. The other man had auburn red hair styled with an added flare about him, giving him a feminine yet deadly appearance. His red (in the sunlight it seemed a bit more pink to Cloud) leather jacket didn't help matters on the dangerous side. And neither did the black outfit of a First Class SOLDIER underneath the red leather.

This man was captivating, but at the same time he was deadly. The air about him screamed a mix of 'I am holier than thou' and 'You can look, but don't you dare touch. I have fangs and claws and I'm not afraid to use them'. Cloud certainly knew he wouldn't want to be caught on this man's bad side.

"I was just leaving. I'm a delivery boy, and an old lady wanted me to get her groceries." Cloud replied, hoping the other wouldn't ask just _who_ he was getting the groceries for.

"Oh?" The man raised an elegant eyebrow.

"You don't seem the delivery boy type to me. Have you ever thought of applying for SOLIDER, little chocobo?"

'_What's with the chocobo nickname?'_ Cloud wanted to ask, but he was afraid he'd be hacked to pieces if he did.

"I've thought about it, but it's all up to my father." The blond answered truthfully.

When he was growing up, Cloud heard whispers about a prodigy among the SOLDIER program. Ever since then he'd kept an ear out for any news related to the general, who in the public eye was considered a living god among men. But Cloud knew better, he knew the origins of the general all thanks to a certain demon who thought it'd be funny to tell him bedtime horror stories (which he later found out to be true about Vincent and how he came to be) when he was younger.

Cloud was curious, but due to his deep understanding and love for his father he dared not to ask anything related to Shin–Ra. But now that he thought about it, now was probably a good opportunity to bring up the SOLDIER program. So long as there wasn't a chance Vincent would shot him however…

"Your father has the last say on everything?" The First frowned disapprovingly.

"No, not always. He's just not particularly…fond of the idea of sending me off and get killed sometime later on." Cloud shifted his weight from one foot to the other nervously.

"Ah, so he's holding you back because he cares." The other concluded.

The SOLDIER paused, and Cloud caught a hint of jealousy. But as soon as the jealousy had come it disappeared in a flash.

"What if I hand over a recommendation then? You can't get any better than a recommendation from a top commander."

A commander, huh? That explained his outfit at least. And the incredible amount of ego. But something bothered Cloud.

"Um…may I ask, why me? You don't seem the type to randomly or willingly hand out a recommendation to some stranger."

The First shrugged. "I just happen to find you interesting. And…there's something about you that reminds me of someone. But I can't exactly put a finger on what, however. Tell me, have you ever heard of LOVELESS?"

Cloud recognized the title. It was one of the few poems/plays Vincent made him read. The first time through he didn't understand it, but after a few times over Cloud realized the poem had some sort of message about it that was some sort of great mystery. He didn't ponder over it too much since the poem lacked an official ending.

"I've read it, actually. The poem and the play, as a matter of fact. What about it?"

"_Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess. _

_We seek it thus, and take to the sky. _

_Ripples from the water's surface_

_The wandering soul knows no rest._"

A playful, knowing smirk made itself known on the handsome face. His eyes gleamed with a silent challenge at the blond, as if daring him to answer.

Cloud hesitated, thinking over the verse the SOLDIER just recited to him.

"I caught your interest. My appearance is unusual, however you notice something else. You won't tell me the entire reason why, either because you don't know the entire reason yourself or because you want me to think over the poem LOVELESS."

"Also, as you said, I remind you of something. I'm guessing it has something to do with the sky? I've often been told that my eyes reflect the sky. Or the ocean, but I'm guessing that by the verse you've recited to me was about the sky, the ocean wasn't in your mind."

The First stared in shock. Then after a moment his serious expression came back with a smirk. The auburn haired man crossed his arms across his chest.

"You read between the lines, young one. You've past the first test."

'_That was a test? I'd hate to see what he'd consider an exam.'_ Cloud pondered.

The First pulled out what the blond guessed was an application forms and a pen and began to scribble down something at the very bottom of the last page. Once he was done the SOLDIER handed over the paper.

"That should do the trick. I'll be waiting for your entry, little chocobo." He smiled once more, and then walked away with careful strides, giving away that this man craved attention. His coat alone would make anyone walking by have a second glance at the daring figure.

"Wait, I don't even know your name. You don't even know mine." Cloud frowned in afterthought.

"You have my signature, little chocobo. And I'll learn yours when I get the call from the director concerning your application." The First chuckled, not even glancing back or pausing in his steps.

Hesitantly Cloud flipped through the packet to the last page. There at the bottom, was a signature with elegant and neat handwriting, it suited the man well. Upon reading his name however, Cloud felt that it had a certain ring to the man.

'_Genesis Rhapsodos. Interesting name for an interesting man, suits him somehow.'_

And with that, Cloud stuffed the application into the grocery basket and headed out of Kalm.

=3=

The next few days were hell for both Beast and Swan. Cloud had made the mistake of immediately bringing up the application paper, which set off a whole new level of protectiveness from Vincent. The blond hadn't thought about how to bring the application up, when he found himself talking about it.

And the next thing he knew, Vincent was all over him with questions. Who gave him the application? Why did a First Class SOLDIER of all people, hand him an application for free? And although he didn't say this, Cloud could tell the elder was asking in his head, what the hell were you thinking?

To tell the truth, Cloud didn't know. He honestly had no idea why he accepted the papers. Or even destroying them once he was far enough away from Kalm so the commander wouldn't witness their destruction.

Maybe it was because the blond secretly wished to meet Sephiroth. He didn't wish for it out of admiration, but out of curiosity. He wanted to know what the 'Great General' of Shin–Ra was like in person. Cloud had seen a few posters of the young man, and he knew then that Chaos' seemingly crazy horror stories were true.

However Cloud didn't expect such a dramatic dispute between him and the man he considered to be a father. They were simply too close for any kind of arguments. Cloud understood his father's fear, but he never thought the man would this protective.

Once they had enough of arguing after the first day, neither spoke to each other. There were few glances, but other than that there was no sign of either of them taking the hardest step of forgiving and giving in.

Cloud wanted so much to apologize, but he didn't want to give up this one chance. He was so torn inside that he didn't know what to do, or what mattered most. Use the only chance he could possibly ever have to meet Sephiroth, even if the chances were small when he applied, or drop down on his knees and beg his father to accept his apology.

The blond was currently tempted to do the latter. He didn't want this silent treatment to continue on any longer than it should. It felt as if he was being squeezed by a boa constrictor as each day passed without a spoken word between them. Cloud could just be over reacting, but this had never happened before.

When Cloud finally had the courage to follow through with his begging for forgiveness, he was surprised that Vincent made the first move.

"Cloud."

The blond blinked, unsure if he was finally going crazy and was hearing things.

"…I'm too selfish. If you really want to go, then you have my blessing. But only on one condition." Vincent's crimson gaze met the boy's uncertain blue ones.

Cloud's heart skipped a few beats. He was going? Vincent was allowing him to go?

"Y–yes?"

"…Whatever happens, if you're in a situation that you can't win, run. Just run."

It was then the blond realized that this was the hardest decision Vincent could ever make when it concerned his pupil. The gunman always weighed the pros and cons on what was best for Cloud, he was always there to help and decide what to do. It was only on the boy's persistence that Vincent finally accepted on taking the boy on as an apprentice at the tender age of ten.

With a curt nod, Cloud made his way to Vincent in three quick hops and threw his arms around him. Vincent planted a gentle kiss upon the boy's brow, his own fatherly way he had picked up the past few years. The blond smiled, eyes grew teary all over again.

Both Swan and Beast knew that this was farewell. Not forever, but far longer than two years, if the boy succeeded in making it to the SOLDIER program. Vincent's heart lurched at the thought. But whatever happens, Cloud will always have his full support.

=3=

Shado: Well, I feel that the whole Genesis part is a bit rushed. But I didn't know what else to add, so I guess this will have to do. I couldn't use the creatures, since Cloud had already encountered them before he made his trip to Kalm.

Speaking of, I haven't quite found a name for what these creatures should be called. I've drawn them out, I just need to finish inking them, scan 'em and post 'em up on deviantART, and then possibly color them. I just haven't decided whether to use colored pencil or photoshop. My photoshop skills aren't that great at the moment. And I'll be sure to add the links onto my profile, so that anyone can look at 'em and see if they can get inspiration for a name.

So, please leave a review! It could be a random comment, a few pointers, or if you have any thoughts of names of the creatures, it'll be much appreciated. Good reviews lead to good results, and this chapter is the perfect example xD


	3. The Powers of Friendship

Shado: Sorry this took a while. I've been busy with college and all, but now that everything is kinda easy to squeeze in writing up chapters so this one I took my time.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Final Fantasy VII.

**Chapter Three** – The Powers of Friendship

"_There can be no friendship where there is no freedom. Friendship loves a free air, and will not be fenced up in straight and narrow enclosures."_

William Penn

=3=

Lieutenant Zack Fair could hardly contain himself as he skipped, more like hopped as a happy bunny, his way towards Angeal's apartment. He had just gotten the news that he made it into First Class SOLDIER.

First Class! Zack could hardly believe it! He finally made it!

And to add to his already excited delight, he was going to teach a class to the new upcoming recruits! He was so happy he could jump for joy, do cartwheels, and even throw his Hug of Terror (courtesy of Genesis) at the general.

Well, as tempting as it was, Zack knew he'd be sliced to pieces if he tried.

"Hey, Angeal! Guess what? I've got great news!" The young man shouted as he entered the apartment, unable to keep his legs still as he stood before the closed door.

"Oh dear goddess, it's the Bouncing Puppy of Doom." Genesis, who was leaning against the counter opposite of Angeal, commented with an evil smirk.

Zack pouted, but he was not going to allow the red commander's comments ruin his day. Nope, not today! No matter how many times Genesis would throw insults his way, Zack will not be fazed! It was a special day for him to celebrate, and he wanted to spend it with his friends. Even if it meant he was to spend time and bear with the fiery commander.

"Excuse me, Mr. Sarcastic, but I'm not gonna let your words hurt me today! I bet you're trying to sneak a few treats before 'Geal finishes his cooking." The lieutenant threw back.

Genesis frowned. "Actually, I was telling him about my trip to Kalm two days ago."

"Oh, right. Well sorry for barging in, but I got more important news!"

"Zackary, would you care to stop yelling in the apartment? My ears can only take so much of your howls." A different voice said from the couch.

"Oh, my bad Seph, I didn't see you there." Zack laughed nervously, trying to break the tension.

"Says the puppy who has the attention span of a five year old." Genesis snorted.

"Hey!"

"Zackary." Sephiroth hissed.

"That's enough, you three. I won't have this turn into another argument in my apartment." Angeal shook his head.

"So, Zack, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

The lieutenant's well known grin came back with full force. Out of the three men, Angeal had always been the one who had enough patience for Zack's hyper activeness.

"I made it into First Class! Isn't that great? I'm one of you guys now!" Zack threw his arms up with joy.

"I figured that was your news. I was the one who recommended you to become a First, pup." Angeal laughed.

"Really? Oh, thanks Angeal!" The lieutenant ran over to the kitchen and threw his arms around his mentor.

"Down pup, I'm still making lunch here." Angeal laughed while gently pushing the younger man off of him.

Zack backed off, still grinning widely. His body was shaking from holding back his excitement, afraid he'd accidently knock something over if he danced his victory dance. Genesis briefly thought of a black tail wagging happily behind Zack. The image made the red commander chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Zack bounced his way towards Genesis, barely able to stop himself from running into him.

"Oh, nothing. I was just musing over the fact the pup has now become a dog. All you need is a wagging tail and ears popping up in your wild hair." Genesis quickly made his away to the other side of the room, at the same time avoiding Zack's tackle and sitting next to Sephiroth.

Zack landed comically on the floor where the red commander once stood.

"Ow! Angeal!" The pup cried.

"So long as nothing is broken, you can get up by yourself pup." Angeal shook his head.

"Are you positive he's ready for First?" Sephiroth raised a brow.

"He'll grow into the role in time."

"Tch. I doubt he'll survive a Midgar Zolom." Genesis commented.

"I can too!" Zack pouted as he sat up on the floor, rubbing his sore chin.

"And I can sprout wings." The red commander rolled his eyes.

Feeling another argument coming along, Angeal decided now was a good time to change the subject.

"So, Genesis, you were saying something about meeting someone in Kalm?"

"Yes, you were going on about this person as…cute, I believe was your word?" Sephiroth tilted his head at the red commander.

"Kalm? Why was he at Kalm? Nothing's happening there, right?" Zack frowned, recalling a rebellious group that took Kalm hostage not long ago. "And what's this about a cutie?"

"Nothing that was too serious. Well, SOLIDER standards that is, but the Turks needed a First to keep an eye over things. They believe that the assassin Gunslinger murdered the mayor of Kalm." Genesis shrugged, not entirely interested of his previous mission.

"And the 'cutie', as you said, he just happened to be passing by when I was bored. He's adorable in every meaning of the word." The red commander smirked, now in a better mood.

"Adorable? That's a change, Gen. You normally don't go for the cute type." Angeal raised a thick brow. "What makes this one so special?"

"Something…I don't know, there's just something special about him. I don't think I could go for him in a romantic relationship, however. I don't seem to be his type." Genesis' face darkened at the revelation.

"Oh? And how do ya know that? You've only met him once, right?" Zack tilted his head.

"He's adorable, _too_ adorable, and too pure. Let's face it, I'll ruin him." Genesis sighed dejectedly, shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Sounds like you really care about this one." Sephiroth commented.

"Yeah, I just know he'd go more for the silent and careful type. I'm obnoxious and too judgmental."

"Wow, you're really feeling for this kid. Did you at least get a name?" Angeal inquired. It was rare for Genesis to admit his less admirable traits, let alone state just what type someone else was interested in without a curse following seconds after.

It was common behavior of Genesis. If something caught his eye, the red commander immediately made claim to that object. Most of the time his interests would lie on books of poetry or some well written book that met his standards, but there was the rare cases of people that caught his interest.

Sephiroth happened to be one of them. Genesis was instantly fascinated with him, but he knew right off the bat that they wouldn't make it on a romantic relationship level. They were polar opposites of the extreme, it would never work out. To compensate, Genesis offered the friends with benefits deal. They would have their fun, and then the next morning go about their business like nothing happened. It took some time for the general to cave, and since then they've rarely fought over simple little things.

Angeal couldn't be more thankful. Although he despised the 'friends with benefits' sort of thing, it actually helped the two come to an understanding of each other. For a while Angeal was the only one who saw that it was because of their social differences that was what caused major misunderstandings and nearly ending their friendship. At the very least he no longer had any migraines when stressed over any possibility of trying to get the two make up.

"Unfortunately, no, I didn't. However I gave him an application for SOLDIER with my signature on it. I could just tell that underneath the adorable chocobo façade, there's a warrior lying dormant in there." Genesis' smirk returned with an aura of a sly fox. "He's almost worth to be my pupil. It all depends on him, if he actually applies."

"Chocobo?" Zack perked at his favorite bird.

"You're considering on taking on the responsibility of actually taking someone under your wing? With the way you teach, he'd better be tolerant with your attitude." Angeal shook his head.

Honestly. He couldn't remember how many times frightened cadets came running to him to stop a raging Genesis from burning them into crisp overcooked flesh. Angeal was never one to turn down a cry of help, which was why most of the cadets ran to him instead of Sephiroth or the director. If Angeal didn't happen to be around, then the cadets ran to the indoor Shin–Ra pool and ducked under the water when Genesis threw fireballs at them. It was a good defensive tactic.

"His hair made me think of the behind of a chocobo, but cuter. So if you see blond spikes sticking out in the crowd you'll know it's him." Genesis half turned over the couch to stare at his friend in the kitchen. "Like I said, it all depends on him. I could tell he was wary, yet at the same time curious when we talked."

The other three men stored away a mental note of Genesis' description. It wouldn't be that hard to spot the boy anyway.

"You sure he wasn't curious about a possibility of you two happening?" The pup hinted with a wide grin.

"No, puppy. He wasn't interested until I asked him if he ever thought of joining SOLDIER." The red commander rolled his eyes.

"And to top it off you gave him an application, with your signature. I'm sure the director will have a field trip when he sees that paper." Sephiroth chuckled smoothly, a playful smirk made itself known.

Genesis laughed along with the general. "Oh, I'm sure he'll at first think it was a forgery. But once he compares signatures, he'll probably have a heart attack."

This time Angeal allowed himself to laugh with them, all the while shaking his head. Zack grinned happily, silently enjoying the rare interaction between the three warriors. It was a first time he'd seen Sephiroth so relaxed. And the hot headed Genesis wasn't aiming fire balls at him for once. And Angeal was just Angeal. He always liked to cook lunch for his friends, even dinner during special occasions.

With a wide grin Zack joined the other two men on the couch. He decided to be careful and sat on the other side of the general, as far away from Genesis as possible. With Sephiroth between them Zack hoped that Genesis wouldn't attempt to throw a Hell Firaga at him.

His hopes paid off, for the rest of the day went by rather well. It was one of the last lazy days for Zack Fair.

=3=

Time passed too quickly for Cloud. The recruiting days were two weeks after he was given the application. During that time Vincent had worked him overtime, lesson after lesson of building up his endurance and stamina. Beast had always praised his pupil for having the best of both, where he would need them in replace of his lack of strength.

Cloud stood, patiently waiting with the other Recruits for their instructor to show up. Once he gathered with the other recruits at Midgar. The young boys handed in their applications and were each measured and handed a uniform. With so many recruits Shin–Ra has to take up a whole week to review each application. The idea was that the first week was a test to see if anyone had any potential, and to get rid of the weak ones that couldn't survive the first week of training.

Vincent had helped Cloud with writing down the information. Almost everything that was written down was the truth, only changing the place of his birth. With Beast's hacking skills it was easy to make the change on the birth records in case the Turks tried to dig up more information. Father was always paranoid about the Turks, something Cloud always found strange but never questioned the matter.

And as much as the blond wished to go back, to give more time between them he knew he couldn't. Father prepared him best he could for the harsh reality of the harsh treatment of Recruits.

"Hold your head high, but do not make eye contact if you feel threatened. Avoid the dangers of others as much as possible. It'll be easier once you find a friend, someone who will help you without any payback. Once you're comfortable you may voice your opinions. But Cloud, promise me you'll never draw attention to yourself. Six months of training may seem nothing to you but trust me, their methods are harder and they will drill you to the ground. Just bear with it, and always use your endurance and stamina to your advantage. You'll be fine, I know you will." Father spoke fondly to him on their last day.

Just thinking about three days before now almost brought tears to his eyes again. Cloud blinked them away just in time when the instructor walked in. The sheer size of him intimidated the blond, and he willed his mind not to panic and just concentrate on breathing. The instructor's body was built all with muscle, his arms so large he had to walk like a crab just to fit through the door.

His face was hardened with years of fighting. And even there were hint of grey in his hair, his eyes held the youth he used to be. This man was a war veteran, Cloud realized.

The instructor spat on the feet of a recruit near the blond. The frightened boy flinched. But to his credit the boy didn't take a step back, still holding his head high. Cloud silently praised the kid's guts.

"Ya'll a bunch of pussies, the whole lot of ya! Each year the recruits git littler and younger, and this damn company expects all of ya to become the finest SOLDIERs when yer all barely fifteen! Hah! We'll see about that once I drill yer pretty asses to the dirt!" The man eyed the group before him like a wolf contemplating which lamb to snatch.

"The whole lot of ya will be packing by the end of the week. If yer still here by the weekend, then ya better pray to Gaia for endearin' the next six months of havin' yer asses handed to ya! I will not tolerate tardiness, I will not tolerate any of yer bitchin' attitudes, and most of all I will NOT tolerate quitters!"

A few of the recruits were shaking in fear. The instructor's voice was loud and demanding. Even Cloud was shaking a little in his boots.

"The name's Clemens, Sergeant Clemens. Ya'll better get it right, none of the damn excuses of not rememberin' yer own instructor's name, ya hear me?"

"Sir, yes sir!" The recruits stiffened.

"Good, now drop down and give me fifty!"

The scrambled to the floor and did as they were told. Many of them were rushing to get the pushups done and over with, but Cloud took his time. He didn't move too slowly or too fast, just at his own pace that suited well for his body.

He briefly registered Clemens yelling at the other recruits that have collapsed. The man would walk around and pause at the recruits who were too slow or about ready to give up. Cloud paid no mind at the instructor. He noticed that the recruit Clemens spat at earlier was keeping equal pace with him.

The blond casually glanced at his neighbor, blue eyes met mischievous brown. Their shape reminded Cloud of Vincent's almond shaped ones, but without the red irises.

They shared a passing smile, before looking away to avoid being yelled at when the instructor passed near them. Clemens paused before them, watching with interest as they worked in an easy and equal pace. He grinned crookedly.

"If the two of ya are this good at other exercises, then both of ya will fit right in Shin–Ra." Clemens then crossed his arms. "But ya better be faster than this later on or yer out."

Cloud felt the urge to protest, and quickly held it back. Father warned him to stay low, and the blond knew he had no other choice in the matter. Better to avoid conflict as much as possible than fight back and be punished for it.

Still, he couldn't help but feel resentful that he had to abide to rules rather than his will.

=3=

An agonizing hour and a half later, Cloud was exhausted. Even with Father's years of harsh training, the blond had never felt so sore and sweaty in his life. What he hated the most was the smell, which spread quickly and thickened the atmosphere due to the large amount of people present in a small room.

What's worse was that he couldn't wash the filth away until after the last class was over. And he had three more to go. Why in the world would anyone schedule the field training as the first class of the day? As a cadet in training, Cloud simply had no choice of what classes to take. Instead the higher ups choose the schedule, no favors, and no favorites.

In the hopes to have some relief, Cloud headed towards the bathroom to wash his face and hair in the sink. Since his hair naturally defied gravity the spikes were always light and feathery, he hardly noticed them at all. But when they're glistening from sweat and dried without a wash, the spikes became annoying. They would feel heavy on his head even though they stood up at all angles. And sometimes his head would feel itchy.

As he awkwardly dipped his head into the sink in an attempt to wash his hair, he noticed the other boys making whistles and cat calls at him. Cloud frowned, realizing he was pretty much bending over in the restroom. It didn't help he was naturally pleasing to the eye, with his small and feminine frame.

He heard one of them coming closer. Dreading the thought of being cornered Cloud quickly straightened and whirled around. In his haste some of the dripping water from his hair sprayed the oncoming young man's face. He drew back in surprise, eyes glaring at the blond as if he just slapped his face.

The group that surrounded and followed the boy that tried to make a pass at Cloud grew tense and began leering at him. For a few heartbeats Cloud felt that the first warning Father had told him before their departure had just been broken.

Just as they began to circle him a different boy intervened. The blond blinked upon recognizing the figure that stood between them. It was the boy he shared a smile with earlier in class.

"If you wish to corner him, then would you at least have the decency of doing so one on one? Or if you'd like, I can fight you over him." The boy smirked in confidence.

The group glanced at each other, appearing nervous. After a tense moment they backed off and walked out. With a smile of his victory, the boy turned and offered his hand to the blond.

"I apologize if I offended you. It was the only way they could back off." His smile was fonder this time. "My name is Xaoli."

"Cloud." The blond nodded, accepting the hand with a shake.

Xaoli chuckled. "Interesting name, yet it somehow suits your aura."

"Aura?" Cloud blinked, tilting his head.

"It comes in handy to read auras. They reflect your personality, your values, and your life as a whole. However, I have trouble reading yours. It's so complicated. But I sense you have a kind heart." Xaoli grabbed for a towel and handed offered it to the blond.

"Thanks." The blond accepted it and began to rub his head with it in an attempt to dry.

"Your hair looks like a mop." Xaoli commented.

"It's always like that." Cloud replied with a chuckle.

"How can you stand it? And is it natural like that?"

The blond shrugged. "It's always been like this. Father didn't bother to spend time on flattening them."

Xaoli blinked. "You speak highly of your father, it seems."

"He's my father, why would I disregard all that he's done for me?" Cloud furrowed his eyebrows.

"I never said anything about disregarding your father."

The blond frowned. He came to realize that Father was right. His world centered only on Vincent, and he failed to realize the social lives of other people. He literally had no idea how to interact with others.

"Sorry. I come from a very remote area. We're kinda cut off from the rest of the world." Cloud smiled nervously.

"There's no need to apologize. You didn't do any harm. But if you wouldn't mind, we work together to survive here?" It was a pact of understanding. Xaoli helps Cloud and return, he helps Xaoli.

It was a natural act of survival. What confused the blond was, why would anyone want to harm Xaoli? He seemed decent enough, and intelligent enough to get out of any situation Gaia threw at him.

"May I ask why you'll be threatened here?" Cloud couldn't hold back his curiosity.

Xaoli gave him a surprised look. "Here I thought my name would have given away my origins. Where did you grow up?"

"Rocket Town. It's sitting in the middle of nowhere, really. But Father and I traveled all over the place for a while." The blond shrugged.

"Have you ever been to Wutai?" Xaoli pressed.

"For a short time, all I remember is the harsh humidity. It was shortly before the war…" It was then Cloud realized that Xaoli was from Wutai.

And Shin–Ra was still at war with Wutai.

'_Should I agree to this? His ethnicity will cause problems, but I have no problem with him. As a bonus I can maybe learn more about Wutai, and he might be a valuable person to have as a friend.'_ Cloud felt grim about this situation, but found that eventually he'll accept it.

"Sure, let's compare schedules." The blond finally nodded.

As luck would have it, they shared the first two classes together. Training and Battle Strategies, but their third classes were different. And to make this even more strange, they were chosen as roommates with two other people they had not met yet.

Cloud knew then that he wouldn't be able to turn Xaoli's offer down even if he wanted to.

'_Oh well, at least I'm not alone.'_ The blond allowed a smile.

=3=

Director Lazard sat in his chair, going through the files of the new recruits that needed a second opinion about. Usually his department handled the files, but if there were any that were suspicious or needed his attention they'd send them over to his office.

Usually this was no problem, since there were very few to begin with. Most of the time the problem lies with a recruit's missing birth records, or any other records required for the program. And if he couldn't come up with the needed papers he'd then send the file to the Turks. That rarely happens in its own accord.

But today was different.

As he sat down in his office chair, he noticed there were at least twenty files on his desk. There seemed to be twice as many this year than before, but he couldn't really complain. Going through the files and taking care of whatever problem there was didn't take too much time on his part. So he opened the first file and began to work.

First five were easy, nothing too serious. Then he came upon two files in particular. He opened up the first one, and was greeted with a picture of a young man with spiky blond hair and big, expressive blue eyes. Lazard then raised an eyebrow of the name.

"Cloud Strife? It's almost just as bad as Genesis." The director said aloud to himself.

With that in mind the director began to read the file. He had read halfway through when Lazard started to question why this was handed to him in the first place. The boy's records seemed real enough. There was nothing wrong with them as far as he could see. And there was nothing of real importance he could see.

So, deciding to save time he skimmed through the last half. And that was when he came upon the signature on the last page. Lazard happened to be sipping his coffee at the very moment, and almost spat it out onto his desk.

The director gulped down the hot liquid, almost burning his throat. At the moment he couldn't care less, for the signature of Genesis Rhapsodos on a recruit file was nothing short of a surprise.

'_So this is why it was handed to me. They wanted to be sure this wasn't a forgery. I know his signature anywhere. I can easily verify this is authentic.'_ This, he could tell, really was.

But just to be safe Lazard set the file aside for later, to send it over to the Turks once he was done. The next file was just as surprising. Upon opening it up he knew exactly why it was sent.

"This is a problem. I'm not even sure if this should have been sent to me." Lazard frowned.

He set the file of Xaoli Lung on top of Cloud Strife's to read more thoroughly later.

=3=

Zack stood in his 'classroom', anxiously waiting for the recruits to arrive. Some of them were already here, talking amongst themselves in their little groups. But for the first time the lieutenant was nervous. He was used to socializing with everyone no matter the circumstance, but this was something completely different.

He is after all going to teach the recruits about _Battle Strategies_ of all things, when all Zack ever did was just jump right in and fought his way out. But the good part was that later on he'll teach them how to handle the swords, and how effective strategies are with them. Zack wished now they were at that moment in their teaching.

The First was hoping he'll do fine, since he'll be teaching a topic that was one of his biggest weaknesses in battle. He was sure the director gave him this position just to teach him a lesson or something along those lines.

Zack was brought out of his thoughts when he realized the recruits have stopped talking. He looked at the clock, they still had a few minutes left. Why were they quiet?

Then he realized they weren't looking at him, but at the two recruits that just walked into the room. Following their gaze Zack nearly screamed for joy at the sight of one of the two recruits at the door.

The kid with chocobo blond hair, still damp from a quick wash in the sink Zack guessed, with the prettiest blue eyes he had ever seen. All day he'd been keeping an eye out for him, and how lucky he was that the kid was in his class! Zack grinned widely in excitement. His day had just gotten better.

"Ok, attention people! Let's round up and get moving! Line up single file. I don't care squat about how you line up in alphabetical order or by random, let's move! Chop chop people!" Zack clapped his hands together to get them to listen, which helped ease the tension in the air.

They swarmed like chickens without their heads as they scrambled to line up in neat rows. The First couldn't really blame them. They were probably still traumatized from their previous class.

Zack kept an eye on the blond hair that stood out in the crowd, who stood proudly in the front. Out of everyone else he seemed to be a little more relaxed, staring ahead with a calm and blank expression. Zack then noticed that the boy the chocobo came in with was next to him.

'_Whoa, he looks like Tseng…'_ The First blinked. _'What's a kid from Wutai doing in a place like this?'_

The kid's hand twitched, but otherwise didn't show his discomfort of being scrutinized. And the blond shifted, obviously doing his best not to turn his gaze to the boy next to him.

'_Are they friends?'_ Zack wondered, but quickly pushed the distraction out of his mind. The First turned his attention to the whole class.

"Listen up, I'm not gonna be too strict with you this first week. However, that doesn't mean you get a free pass to slack off. If you decide to play around and not do as I say, then you're out. I'm a nice guy, so you get a warning. You get two, and I'll keep a very good eye on you. A third lands you out of this class and a major flaw on your record. Got it?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Cut the 'sir' business, and call me Uncle Zack! Or just Zack, whichever you prefer." He grinned.

A couple of the recruits snickered, not fully able to hold back their laughter. Even Spiky cracked a smile.

"Sir, yes sir!" The class still chanted, although half heartedly. The urge to laugh was still evident in their faces.

"I'm serious guys. Calling me 'sir' makes me feel old." Zack pouted, crossing his arms.

This time they couldn't hold back any longer. Nearly the whole class burst out laughing. The little chocobo actually covered his mouth in a sad attempt to hide his soft laugh, his bright smile. Zack inwardly beamed at the adorableness of the whole gesture.

Once everyone calmed down the air seemed free of tension. It was exactly what Zack aimed for. Angeal told him to just be himself, and if Zack knew anything best he knew that laughter was the best way to ease the mind. The first wanted to do a little victory dance at his success.

"Ok, now that you're all relaxed, it's time to get down to business. On the top of your head, who can tell me how important a strategy is in battle?"

A kid in the back raised his hand.

"Go, kid."

"Strategies help plan how to win the battle?" He inquired, unsure of his answer.

"That's true, but there's more to than just winning. Anyone else would like to add anything?" Zack asked.

The kid the First noted was from Wutai tentatively raised his hand.

"Kid down in front."

The Wutain frowned at being called a 'kid', but refrained from complaining.

"A strategy is to understand one's enemies, and understand how many you're facing and how many are with you. Depending on the numbers, you could easily overtake the enemy or you'll have to use whatever is necessary to catch your opponents by surprise." He spoke with his head held high.

Zack couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"That's a good observation. But there's still something missing. Anyone wanna take a crack at what it is?"

After a moment of hesitation, the blond raised his hand.

"Go ahead, Spiky." Zack smiled at the flushed cheeks.

"Is it that, if there was ever a situation where your strategy doesn't turn out the way you planned, you always have a backup plan? And if there was no other way to survive, before you make your attack you examine your surroundings and take note to any possible exit routes that will give you the advantage?"

Zack stared in awe. If the blond hadn't spoken in his nervous tone, he would have sounded just like a SOLDIER.

The first grinned, which eased the chocobo's mind and relaxed. Zack now knew why Genesis had a feeling about this little blond having a warrior inside him.

'_I can't wait to tell everyone when the day is over!'_

=3=

Shado: There ya go! Zack is here, along with Angeal and Sephiroth. And a brief part with Lazard. That tiny part will come into play a little later, as well as a few other hints throughout the chapter. As to what those hints are, I won't tell xD

Xaoli Lung: To pronounce his first name, first, has anyone ever seen the show _Xaolin Showdown_? It was cute, and funny back in its prime. Anyway, try to pronounce his name like Xaolin, but without the "n" part. And to save you the trouble of looking up its meaning, Xaoli means "intellectual" and Lung means "dragon". I thought it seemed cool, at least to me. I first wanted to name him Feng, but I scratched that out cuz 1) it's awfully close to Fang in FF13 and 2) it reminds me of Tseng, even though they're pronounced completely different.

I think that's all I needed to clear up. So, please, click the lovely review button below and tell me what you think!


	4. The Misfits

Shado: Well, I finally managed to get this done. Although I will technically be on vacation after this week, I'll be busy with a number of things. It is the holidays people, so I'll do my best to update between free time at every chance I get.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the sort of Final Fantasy VII.

**Chapter Four** – The Misfits

"_What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."_

Ralph Waldo Emerson

=3=

It had been a normal day for the general despite the amount of paper work sent his way of possible potentials to keep an eye out later in the SOLDIER training program. The day was uneventful, and for once Sephiroth had some peace and quiet from a certain bouncing puppy that happily disrupted his work hours.

But to say that the general was content with the idea of someone such as Zack Fair teaching the new recruits with so little experience was a total lie. At one point, he could actually get some work done with fewer migraines of the lieutenant's cheery mood and loud voice. The other point was that the lieutenant would spend more time talking nonsense rather than actually giving a lecture to the recruits.

It was not a decision Sephiroth would have appointed Fair for his promotion, but overall the director had the last say on the matter. And to be sure Zack stuck to the schedule handed to him Director Lazard gave him permission to have surprise visits while Fair's classes were still in session.

Of course Angeal would have been more preferable, but due to being the lieutenant's former mentor he would have a high opinion of Zack. Genesis was out of the question, for whatever reason he holds a high amount of abhorrence to Zack Fair. So with those two out of the question it was left with Sephiroth.

To which the general didn't mind, to think that he could walk into Fair's class without warning would be chance he would not pass up. The idea of seeing Zack's surprised expression, pausing in mid sentence with his lecture made Sephiroth chuckle at the thought.

He wasn't going to visit during this week, though. There was simply too much work that is needed to be tended to, and it would put too much stress on the recruits as they adjust to the new life style. In fact Sephiroth had a good idea that many of the cadets would faint from being in close proximity to him. As amusing as the sight would be, he was sure the director would give him an earful about it. Not to mention the complaints from the infirmary doctors of a great number of new recruits suffering from concussions barely from the first week in.

With a sigh, Sephiroth glanced at the annoyingly ticking clock on the wall and realized that it was halfway through his lunch hour. The general blinked in surprise. It would be around this time that Genesis would call him up for a chat to cure his so called boredom from unintelligent recruits who weren't worth the effort for the SOLDIER program.

'_Come to think of it, he's been acting rather odd since his return from Kalm.'_ Sephiroth furrowed his eyebrows at the conclusion.

Since his return with news of a young boy with a hidden warrior inside him, Genesis seemed more withdrawn. The red commander spent the last of his remaining summer vacation days in his apartment reading book after book of his endless collection of poetry. What genre of poetry Sephiroth did not know, for he had no interest in such mindless literature, and thus he didn't pay attention to the little details.

Now that he thought about Genesis' behavior, he found him rather odd. Sephiroth wasn't sure if the young blond man Genesis had met in Kalm had anything to do with his odd behavior, but it was certainly a coincidence. And it's not like he could simply ask his friend what was wrong, Genesis was not one to humor such deep questions unless he was absolutely willing to give such answers.

No, it was best not to pester him, otherwise he'll become more withdrawn and work himself into a corner and shut his friends out of his world for some time. Sephiroth had learned this lesson the hard way during their early years of their friendship.

It was not a mistake the general would be willing to repeat again.

'_No matter, Genesis will eventually come to me or Angeal when he's ready.'_ With that final thought over Genesis, Sephiroth decided it was time to use the rest of his lunch hour for a new cup of coffee.

As he stood up and made his way through the maze of his paperwork that somehow filled the entire space of his office, Sephiroth sighed once again. He was going to need the new cup. And possibly a few more into his late night shift.

Sephiroth then remembered why he loathed the beginning of the new recruits.

=3=

After the second class for the day, it was lunch. Cloud was nothing but relieved, he was starving. And glancing over his shoulder at Xaoli, his newfound friend was the same. So the pair headed to the cafeteria with high hopes to fill their empty stomachs. Of course, they were shocked to see that the food was nothing but muck.

Upon walking to an empty table, Cloud paused to examine the abomination that dared call itself food. He thought he saw something wiggle and slither in the green, lumpy stuff. The blond was briefly wondering if he should throw the contents of his tray into the trash when the prickly feeling of being watched came over him.

Cloud turned to find himself face to face with the same recruit he splashed water in the face in the bathroom earlier. This time he had more people behind him than last time. The blond had a sinking feeling that this was going to end with fists rather than words.

To his left Xaoli tensed, already reaching the same conclusion as Cloud had. The Wutain teen shifted his weight in ready to fight when the time came to defend.

"You may have evaded us earlier, but this time there's more of us to take both of you on." The boy smirked, leering at the blond.

Cloud narrowed his eyes in defiance. If there weren't any witnesses, he'd be glad to take this arrogant boy down and the rest of his men without breaking a sweat. But Father had warned him not to attract too much attention to himself. On the other hand, he needed to have everyone learn not to mess with him either.

Either way, there was no way he could avoid this fight.

Just as the arrogant boy was about to strike the blond for not responding, a different voice interrupted.

"Justin, what did this kid ever do to you, eh? Leave 'em be, they're not worth even half your time."

Cloud looked to his right, and blinked. Another teen about half a foot taller than him, stood. He had dark skin, and thick hair that reached just below the shoulders. The blond had not encountered anyone like this before, and he wasn't sure if this young man was friend or foe.

"What the hell do you mean?" Justin, Cloud gathered, replied with a menacing tone.

"I mean he's in a class all on his own compared to you." The other replied

"He's right!" At the sound of his new voice, Cloud realized that someone else had stood behind the tall teen. This boy was short, shorter than Cloud himself, with dark red hair and freckles all over his face.

"Shut the hell up Ozzie! You're all a bunch of misfits! All of you!" Justin yelled, indicating the four of them, and the short red head immediately cowered behind his friend.

Cloud nearly flinched as the tension in the air intensified. A part of him was glad to have two more on his side, but it was not his intentions to find friends in this sort of predicament. Cloud then focused solely on Justin, if he could somehow prevent the arrogant boy go any further then the rest will back off. Once the leader of the pack is proven useless, the pack then disperses and scatters like headless chickens.

Suddenly feeling uneasy, Justin then looked down to the blond. The intensity of Cloud's gaze nearly made him jump. No one in this planet should ever have such deep blue eyes. If Justin had been completely honest with himself he'd say his reasoning for all this trouble was simply because those eyes frightened him.

"So what's with all the ruckus, yo? I mean, there shouldn't be all this tension on the first day of training."

Cloud tensed, as he did his best to keep his heartbeat steady. For the past few moments had been so quiet he could've heard the echo of a pin drop several feet away. During his entire stay here, the blond had been aware of his surroundings and who was around him. Although he couldn't identify anyone, he could still sense anyone who came close or left.

But the voice who just spoke stood just behind him, and Cloud had not sensed his presence at all. The blond half turned, trusting that Xaoli will still have his back while he was distracted. There stood not one but two people who were certainly not part of the army.

The first to catch his eye was someone with red hair so bright Cloud could guess it was dyed, but he was not one to judge. Many thought his own very hair was bleached, so in a way Cloud couldn't say that this redhead was natural or not.

The redhead stood aloof, but Cloud could see that it was all a fake. The way his green eyes moved rapidly to study his surroundings was a tell tale he was anything but aloof. He wore a loose white shirt and a black suit that was not buttoned, as if he was either lazy or an interesting way of giving off the illusion he was lazy. Maybe a little bit of both.

The second man made the blond even more uneasy. He stood stiff and poised, as if he was ready to strike when someone so much as even moved his direction. Unlike his companion, his suit was buttoned and in perfect condition. His shades were too dark to even see the outlines of his eyes, and black gloves adorned his hands.

They were both Turks.

Cloud wanted to scream at his own conclusion. He wanted to scream and run, run and hide somewhere dark and safe from them. He had heard stories of them whenever he explored some quiet town, running errands for Father. It didn't help that Vincent warned him of them before their departure.

'_Whatever you do act submissive and keep your head down and stay out of their way. Do not ever, ever let your guard down around them. Keep your face void of expression. They can sniff out even the smallest hint of fear.'_

Cloud blinked, giving off an air of recognition of who they were. He then stepped out of their way and lowered his head enough show he wouldn't give them trouble. Next to him he sensed Xaoli's confused gaze at his face. The blond ignored Xaoli as he concentrated on slowing his breathing down enough to calm the muscles in his face, allowing all feelings to flow out and replacing them with a plain and simple mask.

The redhead grinned and stepped forward, tilting his head at Justin with confidence.

"How about you back down, Mr. High and Mighty. This ain't supposed to be a sparring room after all. It's simply a cafeteria."

"And what gives you the impression that I'm the one causing the trouble? That blond one there started all of it." Justin scoffed, not yet realizing who these men were.

The redhead took a quick glance over Cloud, cat green eyes quickly scanning any sign of guilt or anger swelling to the point he'd throw a punch at Justin. Sensing neither, the redhead turned back at the leader.

"He's harmless, yo. You're starting all of this drama over nothing." The Turk shrugged.

"He's anything but harmless! And his partner threatened us!" Justin accused.

The redhead sighed, as if this was simply too much effort to sort out. Still he turned to Cloud and Xaoli, tilting his head.

"Is what this lad says true? Did you threaten him?"

"I did nothing of the sort, sir." Xaoli replied softly, feigning ignorance. To his credit he pulled it off, which surprised Cloud when the Turk didn't question Xaoli further.

"All right, someone's lying here, yo. My partner and I aren't too fond of liars. And it doesn't look like thing are working out too well for you." The redhead motioned to Justin.

"What the hell? But I –"

The bald Turk cleared his throat as he took one step forward.

"I believe now would be the best time to back down before we ask for your name. From there on you'll be receiving your resignation papers and you'll be so kindly kicked out on the first day of the trial week."

The redhead snickered at his partner's choice of words. "Way to go, Rude. Goin' all commando on the poor recruit on their first day. That's gotta be a new record for you, yo."

At those words Justin cringed and finally stepped away. The group behind him dispersed, going their separate ways. Once the tension left did the Turks, to Cloud's horror, turned their attention on him. His heart skipped a few beats. The blond quickly calmed down while somehow maintaining his void mask.

"So, Blondie, I'd like to ask ya a few questions. How is it that ya know who we are when it's only the first day?"

Cloud gulped, this was not good. He had to think fast. The blond briefly eyed their uniforms.

"Your uniforms, they are nothing of the sort that I recognize among SOLDIER. You are not simple employees such as a receptionist with the way your partner stands like a guard on watch. So I assume that the pair of you are from the higher ups, and I have heard talk of strange men in suits who are to be feared." Cloud hoped it wouldn't be too suspicious of an answer.

At his words the redhead raised an eyebrow.

"So you don't know who we are? You were just wary of us because of our uniforms?"

"Yes, sir." The blond nodded.

The Turk grinned, and Cloud wasn't even sure if that was good or bad. His partner nervously cleared his throat.

"Reno." The bald Turk shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Right, we were supposed to go pick up a few files from the director's. Dunno why they're making us do simple errands when they can just fax it over, yo." Reno sighed, suddenly in a foul mood.

But nonetheless the redhead followed his partner out of the cafeteria. Once they left Cloud relaxed his tense muscles in his shoulders with a much relieved sigh. Although that incident has now completely ruined his appetite to brave the abomination on his tray.

Along the way to throw away the mushy contents, Ozzie and his friend followed suit.

"Hey, thank you. For earlier I mean." Cloud sent a smile their way as he dumped his lunch.

"Nah, it 'twas nothing really. We misfits gotta stick together, ya know? Name's Carter. This here is Ozzie." The tall teen offered a hand for a friendly shake.

Cloud accepted the outstretched hand, and for a moment he was overwhelmed how Carter's seemed to engulf his own. Carter laughed at his expense.

"I get that a lot, not many hands out there as big as mine, eh?" Carter chuckled again.

"I bet. My name is Cloud, Cloud Strife." The blond smiled.

"Is that really your name? It sounds like a cool super hero name from a comic!" Ozzie's eyes widened, finally stepping out of Carter's shadow to look up at Cloud with a toothy grin.

"Yes, it is my name. I get that a lot, same with the hair. Believe it or not it's natural, and I don't use any hair products to make it like this." Cloud said.

"Really? Never would have guessed it was natural." Carter commented.

"That's so cool! You've got everything to be a hero! How strong are you, are you good in combat? You've already got everything else. It'll be a cinch for you to get into SOLDIER!" Ozzie nearly jumped up and down in excitement.

"I don't think I'm that good, but I'll still try my best."

"That's what we're aiming for, too. What about your friend here? I don't think he's said a word yet." Carter motioned to Xaoli. "C'mon, don't be shy. I don't bite."

The Wutain blinked, glancing at Cloud. The blond nodded, knowing full well what was silently asked. Xaoli needed to know if Cloud trusted them, which was true. In this conversation the blond sensed no harm from them.

"My name is Xaoli Lung. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet ya, you wouldn't mind if we call you Lung for now?" Carter

With the Wutain's kind smile, and the warm welcome from Carter and Ozzie, Cloud knew that maybe his search for friends wouldn't be so bad after all. When they compared their living quarters, they learned the four of them were assigned to the same room.

Together the four misfits could make the first week. Cloud knew from there they'll have to look to someone who'll be willing to grant them extra time. It was the only conclusive idea the blond could think of, in order to pass the exams six months from now.

Now if only he could catch even a glimpse of Genesis in this maze of a building.

=3=

By the early evening Sephiroth's quiet time was interrupted when Genesis strolled into his office and sprawled himself over the spare couch. No words were exchanged between them for Sephiroth was still working through his piles of paper and it was clear with the way Genesis released a sigh that he was tired.

Within minutes the general could hear the soft, even breathing as his friend slept. Sephiroth smiled, it was often times that when Genesis wanted to get away from stress he'd waltz into his office without warning and simply sleep on the couch.

However, this wasn't the only guest that decided to visit him on a whim tonight. About an hour after Genesis came in, Zack stomped his way through the door and opened his mouth about to shout a loud hello.

Quickly and silently, Sephiroth threw a roll of newspaper straight at the puppy's face. At Zack's open mouth he caught the newspaper by accident. Accident or not, he still looked like a dog. Sephiroth distracted himself from laughing at Zack's confused look by motioning to the sleeping Genesis.

The lieutenant let out a squeak, immediately pulling the newspaper out of his mouth and throwing it at some random corner. The paper caused some ruckus, but despite Genesis being a light sleeper he didn't stir from the noise.

After a tense moment, both general and lieutenant breathed a sigh of relief. Disturbing Genesis during his catnaps would bring hell to everyone involved and the environment around them.

Zack quietly as best of his ability tip toed his way around the maze of papers towards the desk. The large grin adorned his face was a tall sign that he had some news he wanted to spread.

"Guess what, Sephiroth? Remember the cute chocobo Genesis brooded about a while back?" Zack whispered, his body trembling with excitement.

Sephiroth blinked. Of course he remembered, he thought of the mystery boy earlier this morning.

"What about him, Zachary?"

"He's in my class! He's one of my underlings, isn't that awesome?" Zack nearly danced in place.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Did you at least get a name, lieutenant?"

At Zack's slumped shoulders, the general knew that the answer was 'no'. The pup had probably been so excited that he forgot to do roll call.

"But…I cross referenced all of the names and photos of the class he was in." Zack suddenly perked up, grinning once more.

"So, spill it, what is his name?" Sephiroth furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yes, pray tell, what is the chocobo's name?" Genesis spoke, sitting up from the couch. "I've been doing nothing but keep an eye out for him, only to feel nothing but disappointment. This news the puppy brings has lifted my spirits."

At the sound of his voice, Zack nearly jumped. But upon the realization the red commander was not going to throw fireballs at him the lieutenant calmed down and managed a grin.

"The adorable chocobo is none other than Cloud Strife. He's so damn cute in person! I haven't spoken to him outside of class, for he left before I could catch him."

"Oh? Why would he leave in such a hurry? Could it be that he doesn't like the way you teach, puppy?" Genesis inquired in a teasing manner.

"Hey! I wasn't too bad, okay? He left with a friend of his that he stuck close to during class." Zack pouted.

"No matter, we got a name now. I suppose the director will call me in sometime within this week to verify the signature." Genesis shook his head.

"Are you satisfied now, Genesis, about finally having a name to the face that haunts you?" Sephiroth said coldly.

At the general's tone Zack gulped. The lieutenant stepped away from the desk and warily glanced at the red commander.

Genesis glared heatedly at the general. He looked about ready to throw Hell Firaga at Sephiroth.

"The question here, dear Sephiroth, is that are _you_ the one satisfied to finally have a name?"

This time, it was the general's turn to glare at his friend.

=3=

Shado: Things are starting to heat up. And if this chapter seems short, I did what I could to make this as long as possible. But I had to end it here, for it was starting to become hard for me to continue from there on. And it'd make for a good cliffe hanger, so it seemed even more right to end the chapter like this.

So, thing's are progressing rather well so far for Cloud. He's got two more friends, and on the side lines Seph and Gen are taunting each other with Zack in the middle. But...I think something's missing. Next chapter will cover that missing something. Or at least a part of it. I'd love to see if anyone manages to guess right as to what the missing something is xD

And one question, did I do all right with Reno and Rude? I can sort of get a good idea as to how Reno would act and do, but I still have some trouble. And Rude...well, I feel that I failed miserably with him.

So, without further ado please click the lovely review button.


	5. Floor 49 and Coffee

Shado: I apologize for the wait. College caught up to me, I had to step away from this story for a bit. Now that finals are upon us, I have a little more time to spare. As a bonus this is fairly long, I hope this would satisfy all of my wonderful readers who've favorited and reviewed this for the lovely support for this story. I personally thank all of you for being patient, and I hope this chapter will bring some joy and a _little_ bit of teasing.

Disclaimer: It's what I've been saying for the past four chapters. I own nothing.

**Chapter Five** – Floor 49 and Coffee

"_Beauty is power; a smile is its sword."_

John Ray

=3=

It would be a shame to say that Sephiroth didn't even so much as twitch at the taunt from Genesis. Despite the rising desire to either stab the red commander with Masamune, or pounce for a rough dominating round of hot sex as punishment, the general willed himself to remain still. The only problem with either of those two responses was a witness stood stiff in the room, ready to intervene or bolt out the door.

At most times, Sephiroth would go for the most logical option and not kill off his friend. The pair were famous to taunt and fluff each other's feathers at any chance they could as an excuse to have a tumble between the sheets. In a strange way these kinds of acts killed two birds with one stone.

One, after they got it out of their system so their differences wouldn't clash into an exchange of swords. From the beginning they wouldn't stand each other's presence. Unfortunately they met every day as they trained their way up the ranks of SOLDIER, and often they shared the same schedule. When fists were exchanged too many times Genesis had enough and came up with the 'friends with benefits' option.

At first the hatred to each other remained even after the first five or so times they've done it. They were each other's firsts in anything sexual, so from the start they were only experimenting and learning how to make the sex less awkward and more pleasurable.

But once Sephiroth got the hang of it, the afterglow worked wonders. After a good round they didn't despise each other. And depending how wonderful their throes of passion was, they wouldn't have any arguments for over a week. For Sephiroth it was well worth a try of accepting the redhead's proposal, for they've found a friend in each other as a result.

The second reason, once they've become close friends, the pair continued the 'friends with benefits', as a means to blow off steam. So long as neither fell in love, then these acts were simply harmless. Of course both of them would be given strange looks from Angeal, as well as experience his famous speeches of honor a hundred times. But hey, so long as they weren't fighting then for the most part Angeal kept his opinions to himself.

However, lately they haven't done more than a few quickies. And each was far between. The sexual tension between them had been gradually taking effect. This was vastly different from a few years before where it climaxed very quickly and left no drama in between or after. At first, Sephiroth thought that Genesis needed a little distance. Or he was just simply bored of their routine.

But now, the general realized that there was a change in the red commander. What kind of change, Sephiroth can't quite put a finger on it. Whatever was wrong with Genesis he would eventually come to either Sephiroth or Angeal about it. The thought didn't quite settle in the general's head. Something was nagging him in the back of his mind not to wait.

And thus, here he sat before a smirking Genesis and a trembling Zack, Sephiroth relaxed his tense muscles. He was no longer in Friend Mode, but General Mode, the cold bastard that demanded everyone's absolute attention or someone faces the consequences.

"Exactly what are you implying, Genesis? That I have some fantasy with someone who I don't even know, let alone a face to a nameless boy you met some time ago?" Cold green eyes seemed to be piercing through Genesis' body and soul.

The red commander was in complete shock. He blinked, glaring back with a scowl.

"No, I just happened to notice that you seemed almost, what's the word I'm looking for? Relieved? Yes, that's it. Relieved. Relieved to finally know of the little chocobo's name." His sarcasm only made Sephiroth's eyes narrow with suspicion.

Genesis was hiding something. No one would really see his behavior as such, but Sephiroth had known him for too long and worked too hard to gain the hot headed commander's trust and friendship. Sephiroth wanted to keep this friendship, but for some reason Genesis was making it harder for the socially challenged general.

"Perhaps I was simply relieved that you now know his name. I couldn't help but notice that you've been acting distant since you met him. Maybe I'm merely hoping that now you know his name, you'd return to normal." Sephiroth hissed in a low tone.

"So I can get him out of my system? Is that it?" Genesis spat, the air growing thick from the tension.

Zack took one step back. He had a bad feeling that this would escalate to either their usual rounds or something far worse. The lieutenant was desperately hoping that this wouldn't end in bloodshed.

"Genesis, I do not care who you play around with so long as I am not dragged into such matters. Who you decide to take to bed does not concern me. However I do worry when a friend is behaving rather odd. And whatever the reasons that has caused such behavior from you, you have yet to confide to me or Angeal. I am patient, I will pull off asking you what is wrong when you'll only push me away. But I will not tolerate this childish behavior from you." Sephiroth snarled in response, barely resisting the urge to summon Masamune and end this here and now, regardless whether Genesis was his friend or not. The general's patience was wearing thin.

The temperature literally dropped several degrees.

For a few tense moments, no one moved. Sephiroth's dominant hand twitched, fisting and then flexing in hopes to relieve the urges of using his sword. Genesis could sense the other was ready to attack when the moment was given to him. The red commander wished to sit down and talk this over, to see what exactly set the general off. But his instincts told him to leave.

While Genesis hesitated between what he wanted and what his intuition told him to do, Zack bit his lip. The lieutenant prayed to every being above that this wouldn't turn into a fight. When there were fights, there were swords and materia. A fight between Shin–Ra's top general and one of publicities favorite commanders would result in a devastating disaster for both their friendship and political standards. If they fought Shin–Ra will have no choice but to take action.

Even for someone such as Zack, who basically charges into danger head on, understood the casualties that could arise should these two to fight.

Luckily, it wouldn't turn out the way the puppy had feared. For Genesis gave into his instincts, cautiously backing away. Sephiroth watched him with narrowed eyes as the red commander quietly left his office. Genesis even had the courtesy not to slam the door, as he's usually accustomed to when he leaves with bitter emotions.

When the door closed with a click the tension ceased in the air, becoming less suffocating for the two remaining men. Sephiroth leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel the unwelcome migraine invading. This time there was little chance of it going away before he returned to his apartment.

Zack, who was still as a statue up to this point, released a loud and relieved sigh. His shoulders slumped as he relaxed his muscles. And despite how relieved he was, Zack had a feeling that this was a bad omen, the way the conversation had ended. It didn't end with a fight, which the puppy thanked every being above for such luck, but it didn't end with hot sex either. He heard from Angeal that any prolonged drama between them would result into a clash of swords. Worst of all they would lose trust within each other for some time until one of them apologizes.

Concerning their pride, it would be a long wait. Maybe Angeal will have to step in and make them apologize to each other on this one if it got out of hand.

Biting his lip, Zack watched the general with worry. Sephiroth was never one to show he was affected by anything that came his way. It came with the job as general, as any man with his position should hold in some degree pride as a means to show the world he's the best, as well as Shin–Ra's most prized possession. The rare times Sephiroth's mask cracked enough to reveal a troubled expression was when he was overworked and reaching his limit.

This time around worrying over a close friend was involved. This sort of drama Zack was usually good at helping out, for he was an expert at helping people (or try, anyway). But this was the sort problem he wasn't sure if he could do anything more than give Sephiroth his support. If he could he'd follow Genesis and demand what the hell was going on, but then he would have Hell Firaga thrown at his ass. Again.

But he did happen to know someone else who might be able to get farther than Zack. As a bonus both Sephiroth and Genesis took to Angeal more seriously than they did with the young lieutenant. Those three knew each other for years, long before Zack literally crashed into their lives as the hyper soldier boy Angeal had taken under his wing.

It would only be a matter of time and this whole drama thing will blow over. Then everything will return to normal. Well, as normal as it could be for the high ranked SOLDIERs. Once one problem was solved another would soon take its place almost right afterward.

Starting to feel that he had overstayed his welcome in the office, Zack nervously shifted his weight on his feet.

"I guess I'll head out, now. If you'd like, I can keep you updated over Cadet Strife's progress? I plan to talk to him at some point, see if he's really cut out for the SOLDIER program. Thus far he seems to know well about strategies. So, um, yeah… I'll take my leave." Zack made a move to the door, hesitating only for a moment to see if Sephiroth needed anything else. The general was silent, and thus the lieutenant made his leave.

Now that he was completely alone and most likely not to be disturbed for the rest of the night, Sephiroth released a tired sigh. The general was briefly tempted to type in the cadet's name and bring up his file to read over. Or at least have a look at his face. One look at the computer, he was simply too mentally exhausted. He'd spent too many hours already staring at the bright screen. Sephiroth might as well call it a night.

Tomorrow, he promised himself. Tomorrow he'll take a look at the file of one Cloud Strife.

=3=

Commander Angeal Hewley had been sent off on a mission in Wutai. The mission had been planned a week before the new rush of cadets came through, and he couldn't really turn this one down. Sephiroth was expected to provide a speech to the new recruits. Genesis had classes of the basics of materia and how to use them. As an expert of materia, no one could fill his position with such short notice. Even Zack was out of the question, for this was his first year teaching.

As the gentleman he was, Angeal inwardly sighed and accepted the mission the director presented to them. It was a very important mission, one that could effectively end the war between Shin–Ra and Wutai. Unknown to the rest of the world, the war between them had been ongoing. The heat of battle had dispersed after General Sephiroth first shown the world he was not to be underestimated. The Wutain soldiers had shown fear for the first time when they saw Sephiroth cutting away his opponents with little effort.

But despite the public announcement that the war was finally over, no one knew what happened behind the scenes. The Wutain army had been divided into smaller sections, and their emperor had no knowledge of how to defeat an army of enhanced soldiers. Rumors had it that when the Wutain general made a hasty retreat to the emperor, saying how a silver haired demon had lead the Shin–Ra army and nearly wiped out half of their army in one fell swoop.

Not that Angeal believed such rumors. He was one to look at all of the facts before stating his own opinion of the matter. Nonetheless, he had been there to witness the raw full power Sephiroth had unleashed on that battle. Before then the young general had been tentative to use his full strength, even in serious combat training against him and Genesis. All of that changed when Sephiroth stepped onto a real battlefield for the first time.

It was from that day on both Angeal and Genesis had newfound respect towards Sephiroth. They had never realized exactly why Sephiroth would be hesitant when not holding back until that day. On that battlefield, both he and Genesis learned why they would never reach the level of a general, when witnessing such raw power and infinite strength. From then on, Angeal held a lot more respect to Sephiroth than he did before.

Back then Sephiroth had been around the same height as Genesis. A bit short, scrawny, socially awkward, and if one paid close attention, he was a bit timid. Right off the bat Angeal sensed the young man who was destined to be the general was socially awkward. It was obvious with the way he didn't understand jokes, pick up lines, taunts, or anything to do with interacting with other people.

As Angeal realized Sephiroth's inability to socialize was a lot deeper than it should, he started to pay more attention to the young man's gestures and mannerisms. What he found surprised even him.

Sephiroth was timid.

Not saying that he was a coward, the silver haired boy knew how to stand his ground and never stepped down until he won. But as Angeal began to have a better understanding how Sephiroth's mind works, he only had confidence within himself only when it concerns fighting by either argument or crossing swords. When neither of those is presented, Sephiroth was a completely different person.

He spoke softly, he would speak his own opinion only when asked, overly polite, frowned or scowled when he didn't understand something (which was a lot whenever Genesis was around), and never opened up to anyone. Such behavior made him wonder what kind of life Sephiroth had growing up.

As of now Angeal still didn't know, but he could guess. From his understanding, Sephiroth was rarely allowed outside, sometimes confined away from other humans, and never had anyone to call a friend. When Angeal came to this conclusion from studying the future general, his heart ached. He grew up in poor conditions and at times envied Genesis for his prosperous upbringing. To learn someone had grown up far worse than him was quite a shock.

Even now, it's still a shock. Angeal found it hard to believe, but just imagining living with Hojo made him cringe.

But through careful guidance from both him and Genesis (whether he agreed or not to help), Sephiroth was gradually coming around. The general can at least interact without the conversation turning awkward or have anyone run away with fright. He's learned to read other people's emotions well enough he understood if they needed to be alone or have someone to listen.

And yet Sephiroth still has trouble interpreting his own emotions. As much as Angeal hated to say this, Sephiroth would have better chances talking to a wall than figuring out how he feels.

Sure, he would be stressed from work, frustrated with paperwork and calming down Genesis from one of his flame throwing tantrums. A crack of a smile will show through now and then when he had a very good day. Sephiroth could laugh, but most of the time it was forced. Not to mention the sound of his laugh sent chills to the very bone.

'_If he happens to find his special someone, I hope he or she can do a better job of helping him than Genesis or I ever can.'_

Angeal could only hope.

His phone beeped, abruptly interrupting his train of thought.

"Who can be sending me a message this late?" It was around two in the morning.

Nevertheless, Angeal reached into his pocket and flipped the device open. He raised an eyebrow at the screen that displayed Zack's name under New Message.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, pup?" He spoke to no one but the phone.

Even so, it'd have to be an important message if Zack was sending him one this late. Angeal opened it up and began to read it.

"Wait, _what?_"

=3=

The first week passed like a blur to Cloud. He had never felt so sore from work outs. And he thought Vincent's training was harsh. It took until friday for Cloud to realize why he his body ached in places it shouldn't.

It's because this was completely different training. Vincent's training was to develop his speed, flexibility, and improvising. Even a well planned out strategy can have loopholes. But this training has to do more with building up muscle. Although Cloud did have some muscle, but it's not the kind he can be proud of.

And due to his height and weight, it is unlikely he can gain more muscle. Not unless he grew several inches. The chances for a random growth spurt were agonizingly low since the last growth spurt was when he was fourteen. All he gained from that one was a mere two inches. This is another something he was not proud about.

Still, what he lacked in height and strength, Cloud had speed. Thus far only Xaoli was the only other recruit who could possibly match him. Maybe the blond could use his speed to his advantage if he were to be successful here.

But recently, since around wednesday, Cloud began to have the strange feeling of being watched.

And yet when he glanced around he saw no one else staring at him.

This strange feeling stayed with him through thursday and friday. The night before Cloud finally confided to his roommates about it. He told them someone had been staring him, and that he's felt it whenever he was walking from class to class, anytime he was in the hallways heading to and from the cafeteria, and even in the restrooms he didn't feel safe.

When he explained to his roommates, Carter and Ozzie told him they hadn't noticed anything strange. Still they promised to keep a better eye on their surroundings from now on. However Xaoli did notice the same feeling. But the eyes followed him even when he and Cloud departed for their third class.

When the blond learned of this, he had the dreaded feeling he knew who was following him now.

The Turks were taking an interest in them. This explains why Cloud couldn't locate anyone studying him. It was understandable why they would take an interest in Xaoli, but why follow Cloud? Did it have something to do with Genesis' signature on his paper? It didn't make sense, though. If the Turks were suspicious, they would've gone to the red commander and question him if they'd met before. It would surely save a lot of trouble than tailing him. They were starting to become pests in Cloud's book.

And speaking of pests, there was one annoying Lt. Zack Fair. In class, there were times where he would become distracted and turn the lesson off topic. If that wasn't enough, for some reason the First was trying to follow him around like a lost puppy. The blond recruit would hear his name called by Fair, and he'd speed away to his next class without slowing down. As of yet the lieutenant hadn't successfuly ambushed him, to which the blond was thankful for to say the least.

Cloud didn't have much time to ponder further on this mystery. For when the weekend came around he wanted nothing to do than to lie down and sleep away the aches and pains. His roommates had a different idea, showing Xaoli around Midgar and partying with other recruits.

The blond felt bad he was too tired to come along. Xaoli's distressed expression didn't help matters, either. But the four of them knew if Cloud didn't have a nice, long nap, he'll practically collapse half an hour after they were well on their way. He was that tired.

And nap, he did. As Cloud roused from his lovely bliss, he was aware it was dark outside. Glancing at the clock he realized he'd been asleep for only a few hours if his memory was correct about the time he went to bed.

'_It's too quiet. I guess they haven't come back, yet.'_ Cloud noted there wasn't a sound of breathing or of Carter's soft snoring nearby.

The young recruit closed his eyes and snuggled closer to his pillow, trying to sleep once more. But after five or so minutes of trying, there was little success. Decided his mind was too awake Cloud sat up on his bunker, contemplating what to do to fill the time until sleep called him or when the other three come in for curfew.

Looking around there wasn't exactly anything to do.

Suddenly a loud grumble filled the still air. Cloud frowned at his stomach.

"I'm alone, with no food, and nothing to do. Guess I'll have to go find something to eat."

'_Can't hurt to have a look around, either. When in a new environment, it's best to know it well enough you won't have any surprises.'_

Decided, Cloud grabbed for his boots. He was so tired earlier all he could get off were the shoulder pads, boots, and gloves. His knees felt weird upon standing up, as he had somehow forgotten to take off the knee pads. With a sigh, Cloud came up with a good compromise and began to adjust the uniform for his late night outing.

=3=

Sephiroth was exhausted, stressed from work, and in much need of coffee. As his eyes threatened to droop for the seventh time, the general set papers aside and began his trip to the coffee filter just down the hall. But his trip was for nothing when he found out the machine had run out of coffee beans.

It was too late to ask for a secretary, for she had already left for her family night dinner or something along the likes of that. Overall Sephiroth only knew that there was no one to turn to and ask where the coffee beans were stored so he could add more into the machine.

The mere thought he couldn't have his coffee brought on a headache. Sephiroth's head was already throbbing from lack of sleep and stress. And thus, he found himself on the lower levels in his search for coffee with his headache transforming into a really bad migraine. A tired, exhausted Sephiroth in combination of an irritable, possibly unstable Sephiroth is not the best combination.

Perhaps it was good to mention he hadn't met any other employees, otherwise they just might meet Masamune and never see the sun rise again. But meeting no one else within the building came with a downfall.

There was no one he could simply ask where he could find coffee beans, or where the other coffee machines on this floor were.

After searching for the most obvious of places to locate a coffee machine with no success, Sephiroth didn't have the energy to reach for the elevator to go back up to his floor. The idea of crashing out on the couch sounded very tempting.

So, the General of Shin–Ra Army sat down against the wall, one knee to his chest, and about ready to fall asleep. A small part of him felt grateful none of his friends were around to see him in this condition. Angeal was off on a mission, Genesis was Gaia knows where, and Zack was most likely out partying and drinking until he drowned.

What a lovely image that crossed his mind.

Before he could chuckle at the mental image, Sephiroth heard soft footsteps heading his direction from the right. The general's eyebrows furrowed. If his memory was correct, someone was walking up the stairs onto this floor. But why, when everyone used the elevator?

Sephiroth turned his head to eye the door as he waited for the owner of the footsteps to come through. The general nearly flinched as the sound of every step rang through his head. As a general with a body practically made of mako, his senses were ultra sensitive. His enhanced senses were about ten times as a second. He would say a first, but Zack had yet to reach anywhere near his level compared to Angeal or Genesis.

Curious feline green eyes blinked when the steps stopped. Had he been imaging things? Just as he began to believe his mind had finally snapped, the door swung open. The harsh screech of the hinges in serious need of oiling made Sephiroth flinch as it tortured his ears.

He watched as a strange figure stepped out from behind the door. The first place Sephiroth's eyes were drawn to was the bright platinum blond hair that stood up in all directions. The first thought that crossed his head was the cute behind of a chocobo. Not that he would ever admit to having such thoughts, anyway.

Next was the uniform. A young recruit with a few improvising on the outfit. The pants and boots remained the same, but the top half was replaced with a matching blue everyday jacket. The green scarf remained around the neck. Sephiroth couldn't see if the gloves were any part of this get up, for the recruit's hands were stuffed inside the pockets of the jacket.

As tired as he was, Sephiroth felt something in his chest stir when they made eye contact.

Mako green met startlingly bluest of the blue. In the back of his mind he wondered if this was a hallucination. Sephiroth had never met anyone with such blue eyes in his entire life. At first, no one reacted. The general's head was filled with cotton, he couldn't think of what to say let alone care. Sephiroth was, to put it simply, too captivated by those blue eyes.

After some awkward moments of still silence, the recruit with the prettiest eyes in the world spoke.

"General, sir? I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you were here. I was looking for something to eat, sir. You see, I missed dinner, sir."

'_Sweet Mother, he has the sweetest voice.'_ Was all Sephiroth could think of in his slow, cotton filled mind.

If there was one thing he learned from his few experiences with relationships, whether it was friends with benefits or serious romantic relationships, Sephiroth's first interest in a person was their voice. Whenever Genesis rehearsed lines from LOVELESS in his seductive, poetic voice made him shiver with want.

But this voice, this sweet voice was a different want. Sephiroth knew he did have a slight interest in this recruit, but he also knew it wasn't the same hot need he had with Genesis. He couldn't think of what this meant, his mind was too clouded from lack of sleep.

"Sir? Are you all right, sir? General?"

The blond stepped closer and knelt down next to him. A small, tentative hand reached for his cheek. But as if he was reminding himself about their rank, the hand lowered to his shoulder instead. Sephiroth blinked, finally registering the words spoken to him.

"I need coffee."

He watched the angelic face show concern. Thin eyebrows furrowed while a small frown appeared as the recruit eyed him over.

"Sir, forgive me for saying this, but I think you need sleep more than you need coffee."

All Sephiroth could do in response was to hum.

"Um, sir, may I ask, how long has it been since you last slept?"

Sephiroth pondered for a moment. If he was right, the last time he took a nap was around Wednesday. Wasn't it? Or was it the night before?

"Yesterday, I believe. I took a nap during lunch break."

Silence ensured, as the blond registered his words and Sephiroth studied the angelic face. The general tried as much as he could in his current state.

Pale skin, not as pale as Sephiroth's, but he would bet it was soft to the touch. He had a small mouth, but a little plump and plenty kissable. There were blond spikes in all different directions, seemingly untamed and stubborn. Sephiroth had the strange urge to reach up with an ungloved hand and touch those spikes just to see if they were as soft as they appeared to be. But once again he was too entranced by the blue gaze staring worriedly at him.

Wide, expressive, and a deep blue Sephiroth wouldn't mind drowning in. He could stare into those blues for the rest of eternity and never have enough. He was that entranced.

"You don't remember when you last slept? Sir, I think it's about time for you to turn in. If you try too hard to the point you're about to collapse isn't good for your health." The blond bit his lip nervously.

"Would you mind if I help you, sir? Or perhaps I could call one of your friends for you?"

"I'd rather have coffee." His voice came out hoarser than it should have.

The recruit's frown deepened to an almost pout. Sephiroth couldn't help a chuckle rising up.

"What's so funny?" The blond spoke defensively, forgetting his rank.

"Your pout. It's cute."

Blunt and to the point. As a bonus, Sephiroth achieved the desired effect. The recruit's cheeks blushed as he stared and gawked at the general as if he suddenly grew another head.

"I…I am _not_ cute!" The recruit sputtered.

"Cute as a chocobo chick, I accuse." Sephiroth spoke in a husky tone that had straight men tremble in the knees.

The blush on the angelic face deepened tenfold. His hair even stood up straighter a little, resembling ruffled feathers.

"What are you, a dirty old man on the inside?" The blond huffed.

"Guilty as charged." The general chuckled with a smirk.

"Pervert!"

A deep, bone chilling laugh resounded from Sephiroth. Although many would cower in fear, a few (such as Genesis) would shiver at how the most dangerous man on the planet has a laugh that was both frightening and a major turn on.

Even in his cotton minded state, the general saw the blond shiver. But it was not in fear. No, the eyes told him it wasn't fear. The blue in those eyes intensified while the pupils dilated.

"Pervert, am I? I suppose I am. But what does that make you, you who came to such naughty thoughts first?"

"I didn't think about that stuff!"

The quick defense and the way the thin shoulders tensed told Sephiroth it was a complete lie.

"Liar. You're a recruit who sees a stunning general who happens to be in no condition to give your ass a whooping, and nothing's stopping you from taking advantage of the situation at hand." Despite how slow his thoughts came in, his voice still came out a smooth purr. It was the kind of tone he's only used on Genesis, until now.

"… You… That's unfair, sir."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow.

"You're not in your right mind. Therefore, I don't have the obligation to show you that maybe it's _you _who sees the eye candy."

"Now you're unfair." Sephiroth frowned.

"I never play fair, sir." Although it could be overconfidence, there could be some truth somewhere in there.

"Neither do I, little chocobo."

For some reason he found this conversation amusing. Perhaps his head was filled up with too much cotton. Sephiroth was never one to tease. Such simple interactions simply didn't come naturally to him. Not even the flirtatious red commander could help him.

"… You're crazy."

"So I've been told countless of times."

Sephiroth's amusement was cut short when his phone beeped. His playful smirk turned into a scowl as he lazily reached for the annoying device in his pocket. Caller ID told him it was from Angeal.

Not feeling like dealing with another one of his lectures, Sephiroth promptly set his phone down on the expensive tiled floor and ignored it. The small recruit stared in wonder as the phone rang again, this time not deserving even a glance from the general.

When the ringing stopped, silence echoed the room. Then just when Sephiroth was about to speak again, the phone rang again. This time the recruit voiced his concern.

"Um, sir?"

"Mm."

Taking his response as a yes, the blond continued.

"… Aren't you going to answer that, sir?"

He was more concerned for the ringing to stop. The sound was hurting his head.

"No. I don't want to deal with him right now."

The recruit tilted his head slightly with curiosity. There can't seem to be enough of his cuteness for Sephiroth.

"How come you don't want to deal with him? Isn't he your friend?"

"Yes, he's a friend."

Just as he answered, the phone went silent. Sephiroth nearly thanked every god above out loud.

"Then why?" The blond pressed.

The general paused for a moment, contemplating. He didn't want to go into any details with an unnamed recruit.

"I need my coffee."

So he went back to his original mission, the reason why he came all the way out here in the first place. A scowl adorned the angelic face. Sephiroth almost felt bad for avoiding the question. A smile would be a better match for a cute face.

"Sir, if I get you a cup of coffee, will you answer my question?"

"Yes."

Immediate answer. A coffee deprived Sephiroth is an agreeable Sephiroth. A fact not even Genesis or Angeal knew of.

"All right, I'll go find you a cup of coffee. I'll be right back, sir." The blond got up.

'_He's short.'_ Sephiroth realized as his eyes followed the recruit.

A playful smirk made itself known.

'_He's fun sized.'_

Sephiroth nearly sniggered at the thought. Clearly he had spent too much time with Genesis. It was only a matter of time until the fiery redhead grew on him.

Eyes beginning to droop, Sephiroth reminded himself he was being given sweet life. Well, perhaps he could rest his eyes for a bit. Hopefully the cute blond would come back soon.

When the recruit came back, warm coffee in hand, he found the general passed out uncomfortably against the wall.

=3=

Cloud had originally come to this floor to check out the SOLDIER training room on Floor 49. Yes, only Third, Second, and First Class SOLDIERs are allowed on this floor, but who would forget the staircase that goes from the lobby all the way up to Floor 64? It was the perfect route to use to sneak in.

But upon entry, he didn't expect to meet someone he wasn't prepared to meet in person yet.

The entire first meeting with General Sephiroth was strange, Cloud thought. He was certainly glad he found the silver haired man when he did. Gaia knows what would've happened if someone else who wasn't honest would do if they found him first. Probably a murder scene with a strange twist of self defense on Sephiroth's part.

But as he conversed with Sephiroth, the blond was surprised to experience how perverted some people could be. At least the general didn't even try to reach out towards him. Maybe Cloud was just lucky Sephiroth didn't have the energy to do anything other than talk. And flirt.

And flirt he can. His voice alone almost had him. Almost.

An image of Vincent inside his head prevented Cloud from falling for the dark side. Quite literally, too. If Father ever caught wind of this, it would surely raise questions. Questions Cloud would rather avoid. It would be rather difficult to pull off. Father had the knack of picking up any and all information from just lurking in the shadows.

Worrying about Vincent was the least of his problems at the moment, for he had an unconscious general to take care of. Cloud stood there, thinking over how he was going to do this. Sephiroth was nearly twice his height and weight, so carrying him was out of the question. If he knew where the general's floor was, Cloud would put him on something mobile that he can push the general to the elevator and push the button.

Just as he was about to talk out loud what he could or couldn't do the forgotten phone rang again. Cloud nearly jumped, not expecting the noise to interfere his train of thought. His blue eyes blinked as he watched the general, still out of it despite the loud ringing.

'_He must be really tired. A phone that loud can wake the dead.'_

Perhaps it was a good thing, though. If someone was this deep asleep would most likely not recall the last thing they were doing before dozing off. Cloud secretly hoped Sephiroth wouldn't remember the conversation they had when he woke up in the morning.

Phone forgotten once again, Cloud set the coffee down on a nearby desk before kneeling down on his earlier spot to study the general up close. When Sephiroth had been awake the blond didn't have enough time to fully examine the general. He had been too distracted from the teasing and flirting. Really, he hadn't expected such behavior from _him_ of all people.

Cloud tentatively scooted a little closer, tilting his head from one side to another as he analyzed a sleeping Sephiroth.

Long, silver tresses cascading down his back, appearing so silky soft Cloud was half tempted to reach out and run his hand through it. Surely hair this stunning would make many women envious. The blond wondered how Sephiroth took care of his hair, which seemed so easy to tame from tangles and bird nests. A special brand of shampoo meant only for Sephiroth by the company?

It was a likely scenario. General Sephiroth was the face of Shin–Ra.

Silver bangs feathered and framed a handsome young face. Forehead was set broad and high, which reminded him of Vincent's own forehead (from the few glances without the red bandana), which was half hidden from the bangs. And although the eyes were closed, Cloud wouldn't forget the snake like green eyes that bore into his anytime soon. The blond tilted his head the other way when he realized the man's eyelashes were long and dark, almost like soft black feathers.

Cloud began tilting the other way for a better angle of the general's nose. Long and narrow, as if sculpted to perfection to match his face. Cheeks were also set high, but not too much where it was noticeable. The chin and jaw were narrow, but not too narrow. The cheeks, the jaw, and the chin were features Cloud also found similar to Vincent. Sephiroth's lips were thin, but plump enough for passionate moments and –

He must stop that train of thought.

Shifting uncomfortably, Cloud eyed the rest of the general but purposefully avoiding the waist area.

Right off the bat he could see similarities between Sephiroth and Father. Tall, well proportioned, well toned muscles, and built for speed and power. And although the facial features were almost similar to be twins, their bodies couldn't be more different than north and south.

Vincent was raised and trained as a Turk. He was slim and all about speed. For a Turk, speed was power. Since Vincent jumped from one place to another in a blink of an eye, his strongest muscles would be his legs. With heavy trained legs such as his, there's no small wonder why Vincent would use kicks in close combat compared to punches. No, the claw did not count. Unless he was really ticked off, Vincent wouldn't use his claw anyway.

Sephiroth, however, was built for power. He was all muscle, not too heavily bulky where it was ridiculous, but just the right amount. Strong arms to wield the best of weapons, the most famous and well known of swords used was Masamune. It was rumored he could make the most difficult of weapons _sing _while wielding her. Masamune is a legend of itself in the swordsmanship, rather the perfect killing tool for the best general of Shin–Ra, right?

Although Cloud was a bit skeptical, he wasn't sure if Sephiroth had an equal amount of speed and power behind him. As he learned earlier this week, the SOLDIER program is all about muscle power. It is not until a recruit passes the test and makes into the SOLDIER program are they taught about the proper balance of power and speed.

Maybe it'll all be clearer if he witnessed Sephiroth in action. Just by watching the real thing and he could learn a lot. Half the time of his training with Father Cloud had to watch a demonstration before knowing the gist of the form or combination of attack. This happens to be a good method to study the timing of attacks and control the velocity.

Mind set to keep an eye out for any Shin–Ra events Sephiroth has no choice to participate, Cloud was startled once again from his trance by the annoying phone.

Honestly, why wouldn't they just leave Sephiroth alone if he doesn't answer the first time?

'… _Maybe I can ask whoever is on the other line to help move him.'_

In a flash Cloud reached for the cell phone and flipped it open, not bothering to look at caller ID.

"Finally! I thought you'd never pick up, Seph. Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to call you?"

The voice on the other line was masculine, and obviously concerned. Biting his lip, Cloud glanced at the still sleeping general. When he took too long to reply, the voice became suspicious.

"… Seph?"

"Um… I apologize, sir, but the general is asleep."

Cloud silently prayed he wouldn't be kicked out of the program for this.

"Who is this? What's happened to Sephiroth?"

"This is Cadet Strife, sir. I was trying to find my way back to the barracks, and I found him slumped against the wall asking for coffee. When I brought coffee back at his request, he was asleep. Then his phone rang, and well… I can't just leave him here…sir."

The blond looked around, and to his great relief found no cameras nearby. The upside, they wouldn't question what he and Sephiroth had been talking about before he finally got up and retrieved coffee for the general. The downside the higher ups would find his alibi suspicious.

To his luck, the voice on the other line understood. Sephiroth's friend had found truth in his words, despite how nervous Cloud sounded to his own ears.

"All right, you did the right thing. What floor you on?"

"Floor 49, I think, sir."

"… How in the world did you get on that floor? You know that's strictly for SOLDIERs, right?"

Cloud couldn't dodge this one. Better come clean now, before facing the consequences.

"Um… The staircase, sir? Please don't tell anyone, sir. I won't come here again, I was just exploring. I promise I didn't see much, I found the general by the door upon entry, sir."

He heard a sigh on the other end.

"All right, I won't say a word. But can you do me a favor, in return?"

'_Please let it NOT be something that requires a bed...'_

"Y–Yes, sir."

"You sound nervous, cadet."

"Um…"

Darn it. First, he had been teased and flirted by THE General Sephiroth, and NOW someone he hasn't even met face to face was teasing him. On the phone. Not just anyone's phone, but THE General Sephiroth's phone. As soon as this was over and done with, Cloud was going back to his room and straight to sleep.

"Relax, cadet. I'm not like _that_. I would like to help you, but I'm away on a mission. The favor I'm asking is if you'd like to find the name Zack Fair in Sephiroth's address book? I'm sure he can help you."

'_Huh?'_

"Zack Fair… You mean, Lt. Fair, First Class?"

"Ah, so you know him. I assume you're among one of his classes?"

"Yeah…"

'_The lieutenant, who would be better off teaching about how to commit suicide on the field by barging into battle, Zack Fair, is friends with Sephiroth?'_

Cloud was at a complete stump. If he had known this a lot sooner, he probably would've paid a bit more attention to the hyper First.

"Good. Call him, he should be somewhere in the area. Although since it is Friday, he might be off drunk somewhere. If that's the case, call one of the Turks."

The blond gulped. He'd rather go with a drunken Lt. Fair than a Turk.

"… And if I have no choice but to ask one of the Turks, who should I call, sir?"

The man on the other line hummed in contemplation.

"The best one to keep secrets and get away with it without drama drawn to him, would be Tseng."

By the sound of it, this Turk has Wutai origins. Cloud blinked with surprise and slight interest. How in the world did that happen?

"Anymore questions, cadet?"

"No, sir. Everything's perfectly clear, sir. I call Lt. Fair and ask if he can help me move Sephiroth to his office. And if he's too drunk, I'll call up Tseng."

"Good. Oh, Cadet Strife? Will it hurt to ask for one more tiny favor?"

Knowing he can't refuse a higher up, Cloud nodded.

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you leave a note on Seph's desk for me?"

Sounds easy enough. Now for the message.

"Sure, what would you like me to write?"

"How about…"

=3=

Shado: Any guesses as to who the person who called Seph? Should be pretty easy. There are two major big hints there xD

1) Next chapter, a lot more interaction between Zack and Cloud. I wanted to focus mostly on Cloud meeting Sephiroth for the first time (I'm a little sleep deprived myself, and today I have just been told I'm only allowed to have caffine once a day from now on, so I'm going to be in Seph's shoes within the next few days). But that doesn't mean Zack may or may not be the person who helps Cloud with moving Sephiroth. As of right now, I'm still deciding. There are very interesting outcomes depending if I choose Zack or Tseng. It'll be worth the planning.

2) Floor 49. I know, I've played Crisis Core, and that floor is strictly for SOLDIER or staff (i.e. Professer Wackjob Hojo) only. But I've also played Final Fantasy VII, original, playstation and all of the good ol' things. All three discs, too. Yes, good condition. And NO, I am not SELLING. Anyway, at one point in the game you're supposed to rescue Aeris. You could just barge right in (like Zack), or, choose to run ALL the way up the stairs and sneak your way in. If you've only done the barged in thing, and you've got Barret and Tifa in your team, use the stairs. It's some hilarious coversations going on there.

3) Probably should've warned Seph might be a little OC in this chapter... But I want his meeting with Cloud to be memorable (no, not just a pun, I'm serious), yet a little different at the same time. My first thought was that they met at a bar or something while the cadets that made the first week celebrating and all of that. I tried that idea, but it didn't feel right. It felt like I didn't have control over Seph's thoughts and emotions as much as I would've liked. So I went with this: a coffee and sleep deprived Sephiroth. Leaving him a little out of it, and perhaps a little mellowed out. To me this worked a hell of a lot better than the first idea would've been.

I believe that cleared up everything. If not, tell me, and I shall fix it when I wake up and had my sweet, sweet coffee. Now, if you would please, click the magic button that keeps this story alive.


	6. Questions of Loyalty

Shado: Yeah, I apologize for the extremely long wait. I think I have informed you guys that it might take a long while in between updates, yes? I know you probably don't want to listen to my excuses, but hey, I'm currently in college. And now that I've set aside all that is fun I finally got really good grades. But unlike last summer I don't have any classes, so I am going to devote most of my time to my stories.

And to make up for lost time I made this chapter really long. And although I still think it's a little early to let out an extremely important plot line, I've decided, to hell with it, you guys need something to scream about something other than the confrontation that's about to happen here. A good way to get some reviews after a long break, in my opinion. But we shall see if it was successful or not.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a character about to be introduced in this chapter. And please don't judge a book by its cover, he's my baby. (Pffffft.)

**Chapter Six** – Questions of Loyalty

_"There is a great streak of violence in every human being. If it is not channeled and understood, it will break out in war or in madness."_

Sam Peckinpah

=3=

After the call was over Cloud nervously nibbled his lip. It was apparent to him now the caller was none other than Angeal Hewley, one of the high commanders of Shin–Ra's trio. If any other recruit were in his shoes, he would be having a cardiac arrest for speaking to both Commander Hewley and being in General Sephiroth's presence. But for Cloud this could potentially spell trouble.

He was not supposed to draw attention to himself. The blond was hoping that the general would be so out of it he wouldn't remember their meeting. Yet with someone as honest as Commander Hewley he would most likely ask questions upon his return.

Now Cloud never met the man in person, but from what he could gather from rumors the commander was one to snoop around if a cadet was in trouble. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing since the Commander would attempt to help those poor recruits.

Maybe that would give him enough time to plan how to lay low and out of sight. He is a recruit among many. So long as he doesn't do anything to stand out, he'll just be a blank face dreaming to make it into SOLDIER.

But now was not the time to contemplate what he's going to do about the higher ups asking questions. There was an unconscious general who needed his aid. Which produced another problem altogether.

'_Who am I supposed to contact? I have nothing against Lt. Fair, but he's been trying to talk to me this entire week. I suppose he could be easy to manipulate him not ask too many questions. But then there's the possibility he wouldn't keep this a secret.'_

Early on Cloud wondered just how someone as hyper as the lieutenant become a First. It was obvious he knew only the basics of strategy, as he seemed more the type to rush in then ask questions later. And from what little experience he had in the battlefield no one should be _that _ecstatic. From what Father told him, soldiers under Shin–Ra experience a much crueler world than most.

Maybe there were a few wires in his brain that were missing. It was as good as any guess Cloud could think of.

However, back to the situation at hand, his other option would be Tseng of the Turks.

Cloud suppressed a shiver. From what he heard in the barracks Tseng was the man to avoid at _all _costs. But as he weighed the pros and cons, the blond began to think he should just wing it and call Zack.

'_I guess I don't really have a choice.'_ With a side glance to the sleeping general, Cloud flipped the phone he had been holding open and began to go through the address book.

When he found the lieutenant's number he pushed the green button and held the device up to his ear. The man answered on the first ring. Cloud raised an eyebrow at the loud music in the background.

"Yo, Seph! Didn't think you'd _hic_ call on party! Did ya change your mind and decide to grace us with your manly awesomeness?" His voice was heavy and his words were slurred as he shouted over the loud atmosphere.

'_What the…? Is he drunk?'_ The blond flinched from the phone, frowning.

"You there, Seph?"

And the First was on a nickname basis with the general. This meant in some way he was a close friend to Sephiroth. If Cloud was to lay low he absolutely cannot interact with the general's friends, even if they were intoxicated.

Before he could shout at the man for being a nuisance Cloud rudely ended the call.

'_Better to make him think it was the general and not someone else. I hope he was so drunk he would forget about this.'_

Now there was an even bigger problem. The only other person he could call was Tseng, the one Turk Cloud wanted to turn and bolt on sight. One more glance at the general the blond knew he needed help to move him. With a trembling hand he found the Turk's number and pressed the green button.

'_I'm sorry, Father.'_

The man answered before the first ring could go through. And unlike the happy go lucky First, the Turk was in a more quieter atmosphere. It wouldn't really surprise the blond if the man was still in his office.

"General." A stern voice greeted. "I don't suppose you're calling to catch up. Is it safe to assume Lt. Zack Fair is in need of another rescue from a dire situation only he could get himself into?"

If it weren't the irritated sound of his voice, Cloud would have thought the Turk was making a joke. And it would seem he was dead serious.

'_How in the world did the lieutenant become a First again?'_ The blond briefly wondered, almost forgetting his terror for a moment.

As if sensing his hesitation Tseng went into full Turk mode. His voice turned cold as he spoke again.

"Who is this? And may I ask what are you doing with the general's phone let alone acquire it? Stealing from Shin–Ra's own star is not something to be taken lightly."

Cloud trembled, swallowing the lump in his throat. As he replied the blond almost slapped himself over his inability to find words.

"Sorry sir, it's well…um… You see, I was wandering around and then…"

"And then what?" All of a sudden the Turk's voice was smooth and alluring.

Cloud shivered. He knew this tactic. It was one that would make one seem interested enough for an entanglement of limbs later on so as to lower their victim's guard. If Vincent hadn't already taught him the methods the blond felt he would have surely fallen for the mysterious voice.

"I found the general. He…well, I don't have any other way to say this, but he was a little out of it. I suspect he hasn't had enough sleep for several days. He requested some coffee. So I went to find some. When I returned with a fresh cup he was asleep."

He was certain this man could easily worm his way under his skin if he couldn't keep up a lie if they were to meet face to face. In his mind it would be best to come clean now if he didn't want the Turks breathing down his neck anytime soon.

"I see." Tseng paused for a moment. "So you're seeking help to move him. What floor are you on?"

'_Does he really believe me? Surely he must be suspicious.'_ Cloud bit his lip so hard a coppery taste invaded his mouth.

"We're on Floor 49, s-sir."

"Oh? You sound fairly young. You must be a recruit. How did you have access to that floor? I understand only staff and SOLDIERs are allowed."

Damn, this man was sharp. It was no wonder why the Turks recruited this man even if he had Wutain origins.

"Th-the stairs, sir. I used the stairs. Apparently there wasn't a security access from the door, sir."

"Hmm. I'll have to make an inquiry about that door in the next meeting. Stay there, I'll be on my way."

Cloud almost cursed out loud. It was bad enough he had no choice but to speak to this man, but to meet him face to face will bring him nothing but nightmares. The blond was half tempted to make that emergency call to Father and tell him he was right about Shin–Ra.

"R-ri-right, s-sir."

"Now there's no need to worry, I don't bite. Too hard, anyway." Cloud could almost picture a sinister smile on the other end.

"By the way, I believe you didn't answer one of my earlier questions."

The blond didn't need to wonder what he meant.

"Strife. Private Cloud Strife, sir."

There was a brief moment of silence on the other line. Cloud furrowed his eyebrows. Did the man already know of him? A feeling of dread began to spread through him at the thought.

"Well, Strife, it was a pleasure to hear your voice at last. I'll see you in a few minutes."

The line went dead. With the constant beep Cloud wondered if he had just signed a contract with the devil. What bothered him was why the Turk didn't address him by his rank.

As Tseng promised, he arrived a few minutes on the arrival. But to Cloud it felt like an eternity as he paced, his entire body trembling out of terror of what he had just done. The blond cursed himself over and over that he should have gone with the option of an intoxicated First instead of the Turk.

When he heard the ding of the elevator Cloud inhaled, closing his eyes to calm his mind. If he was to face the tiger in his own territory he might as well not appear as prey.

The elevator door opened to reveal a handsome young man with an air of intelligence that anyone should respect. Cloud couldn't help but stare at the stiff yet comfortable appearance. From the way he presented himself with a suit without any wrinkles and black hair neatly pulled back to the way he walked this man took everything seriously.

He was someone who demanded everyone's attention. At the same time he had the notion this Turk could slip into the shadows and blend into a crowd with ease. The hairs on Cloud's neck stood on end.

'_This man is dangerous, possibly even more dangerous than Father without his four demons.'_

What drew his gaze though were the almond shaped eyes and the dot on his forehead that betrayed his origins. Cloud found the symbol confusing for it was clear Tseng did not forget where he was from. Meanwhile the eyes reminded him of Father, minus the red tint. These eyes were a little more defined, so Tseng must be full Wutainese.

Tseng studied him curiously, taking in the modified uniform work he had done. Like others who have met him Tseng seemed almost entranced with his blue eyes. Maybe Cloud could use the innocent puppy eyes to get out of this.

"Sir? May I inquire how you already know of me? I haven't really done anything that I'm aware of to catch the attention of the Turks." Cloud blinked at the raised brow in response.

For a moment Tseng stared at him in wonder. Apparently he didn't account just how sharp the recruit was.

"I must say that you must be special to catch the attention of one Commander Genesis Rhapsodos. He did after all sign your papers. I was the one who verified the signature." A pull of the corner of the Turk's lips into a sort of smile Cloud did not like.

"Which from what I've gathered, he signed the papers he gave you in Kalm. I also happened to be within the area but I don't remember seeing you. Anyone with your description would stand out in a crowd. So, why were you in Kalm at all?"

Cloud tensed when he realized where this was going. Tseng was suspicious of him about the death of the mayor. It couldn't be a coincidence he would bring up Kalm when the only event was the assassination. Gunslinger would already be named as the culprit. And it was no secret the Turks were hunting the assassin with a passion.

"I was simply getting some food, sir. Father and I were traveling when we came to Kalm."

"Traveling where?"

Cloud shrugged. "We're merchants, sir. We don't exactly have a place to call home. So we travel from place to place to sell weapons to get enough money for a room in an inn and some food."

The part of selling weapons was indeed true to serve a cover if Cloud was ever questioned about his whereabouts.

"And how exactly can you afford buying weapons to sell?" Tseng crossed his arms.

"Father has a few good friends who are blacksmiths. You could say we share the profit, since blacksmiths can't move about to sell like we can. We sell their weapons in another town or city, and they work on our weapons for free if anything was to happen on the road."

"So you know how to fight. What did you and your father specialize in?"

Cloud nervously shifted his weight. "I'm pretty good with a gun, sir. I can hit the target with no problem. But as I started to try out some of the swords I fell in love with them. Father can only use a gun, so he couldn't teach me how to fight with a sword. And we don't really have the money to hire someone to teach me."

Tseng considered his words for a moment. When it looked like he was about to ask more questions Cloud quickly changed the subject.

"Excuse me sir, but it's getting late and I can't imagine that metal wall being comfortable for anyone's back." The blond motioned to the still sleeping general.

Tseng looked at him through narrowed eyes. Was he suspicious about dodging more questions suited for an interrogation? To his luck the general shifted in his sleep, diverting the Turk's attention. And whatever the man had in mind for him was pushed aside as he knelt down to examine the Silver General.

"Can you tell what's wrong with him?"

"Just as you had said earlier, sleep deprivation. He must have been running on coffee and energy drinks for weeks if he's this bad." Tseng straightened up. "But a few days of sleep and he should be fine."

Cloud tilted his head. Was the general having such a stressful time? The blond was beginning to wonder exactly what was going on behind the scenes in this company. "Is it always so bad to receive new cadets, sir?"

"When you're the general, it's your job to watch over all men under your command. General Sephiroth just happens to take his job description very seriously." Tseng was staring at the cadet up and down.

"In your files, your goal is to make it into SOLDIER. Later it may turn out you prove me wrong, but I have serious doubts you can make the program."

At that Cloud couldn't help but glare. "Excuse me, sir, I don't think you should go around and judge people. Ever heard the saying, don't judge a book by its cover?"

The Turk raised an eyebrow. "And here I thought you were a shy, helpless cadet."

Words can hurt. Vincent had taught him this lesson at the very beginning. This was the first time Cloud felt no truer words had been spoken. Tseng spoke in a monotone voice, devoid of any emotion. And yet the way he said those words stung. What was probably ironic about this situation would be he's supposed to carry on that image Tseng just described.

Cloud flinched. He stepped back, biting his lip. Yet he couldn't run now. He got himself into this situation, he has to work his way out. Father always said leave any unfinished business will come back and haunt you.

"I…sorry, sir. I didn't mean to speak out." Cloud bashfully lowered his gaze. "What were you saying earlier, sir?"

There was a moment of staring as the blond was being scrutinized like a molecule under a microscope. It was proving quite unnerving for Cloud. He was too used to sticking to the shadows. Sneaking around and he wouldn't have to worry about keeping up the mask.

"You certainly are a curious one, Strife." Tseng narrowed his eyes. "As I was saying earlier, if you feel the need that the SOLDIER program is too much for you, feel free to give me a call. The Turks can use someone like you."

Cloud couldn't help but visibly tense. Was this man really interested in recruiting him? Or was this some sort of bait to lure out Gunslinger? There had to be an ulterior motive behind the mention of Kalm. In fact, he was sure of it.

"I would be honored, sir, but I'm afraid I will have to decline your offer."

=3=

Tseng resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He figured tonight would be a long night with the new recruits celebrating, but he had not considered Sephiroth wander around the building in his sleep deprived state. It was a moment like this where being a Turk can be quite irritating.

It was not their job to linger among the SOLDIERs unless on a mission. However, Sephiroth may be one of the few exceptions Tseng would be willing to bend that rule. The silver general did not undermine his authority like the rest of the army. The man treated him of equal respect knowing full well of Tseng's origins. He had done so since the Turk was promoted to second in command after Veld.

Why Sephiroth took an immediate liking to him was a mystery. Tseng didn't do anything to impress him, at least not to his knowledge. At any rate, Tseng was grateful for the general's open trust in him. For because of it the men in the army weren't openly sending dirty looks or insults his way. There still may be a few who despise him, but none have come forward for a confrontation.

Thus the reason why Tseng set aside important papers to come assess the situation at hand. He owed Sephiroth enough to come and see for himself if what the cadet said was true. It was rare, but there were times when Sephiroth would cave under the stress. But this would be a first of the general spending days of not this entire week without sleep.

He was slightly curious as to the change, as was the duty of a Turk to look into every secret possible, but it was not his place. Despite how the two held high respect to each other they were not close friends if they were friends at all. Tseng doubted he held a title of friend in Sephiroth's eyes. It felt unnatural for such a relationship to form between a SOLDIER and Turk.

However, if this strange behavior persists, then Tseng will have no choice but to make an inquiry at one of the so called important meetings held about once a month.

And although Tseng was perfectly willing to see to this situation personally, the sour mood from hours of paper work remained. He was glad to have an excuse to leave his desk, yes, but his mood would only lighten up if he sat down to calming music and a cup of tea. Having no time for either, Tseng will just have to make do with stretching his legs.

But there was at least one silver lining when he arrived on Floor 49.

Ever since the director sent the boy's files over to the Turks, Tseng found the boy quite the puzzle. How the boy managed to impress the temperamental Commander Genesis Rhapsodos upon first meeting was a world record, and the boy wasn't even a recruit then.

What's more, he found the boy's record squeaky clean. Everyone who joins up for the SOLDIER program had at least one or two flaws. Drunken nights that led to bouts of fighting, overnight for any or all juvenile crimes out there, and anything else hormonal teenagers can get themselves into trouble with, Tseng has seen it all.

Not one, _one_ record, he had come across was _that _clean. Until the director sent over the file of the blond recruit. Tseng was suspicious. A perfect file was something that could happen, yes, but for the most part the recruits are all delinquents in some form or another. Tseng had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind to investigate further about the recruit.

He had yet to follow up on his intuition, but he was not about to pass up a chance on meeting the boy in person.

And now the Turk was left with more questions than answers. As he interrogated the boy, his answers were flawless. What bothered him was the fact it felt too much like reciting words from a play. There was some truth in what he said, though. Tseng could tell with the way his eyes lit up when his father was mentioned.

Even so, his answers made him think the boy was hiding something. Tseng knew then he should dig deeper into the recruit's background. And the way he deflected his questions from going into territory too close for comfort. Tseng saw talent there. If someone taught the boy this talent, Tseng wanted to know who instructed him. If this was natural talent, then all the more reason to recruit him to the Turks.

The very fact the boy was not afraid to use the very same tactics the Turks used, and effectively use these tactics against one of the best without fear, was something Tseng found refreshing. The boy was wasting his time going after the SOLDIER program.

Cloud Strife was too short, not enough muscle mass, and incredibly shy to boot. There was no way he could survive the training. Tseng had attempted to nudge the boy into the Turks, but then it turns out the boy did in fact have a backbone.

'_That boy is definitely hiding something. Whatever it is must be important enough to face a Turk head on.'_

Tseng smiled at the challenge set before him. It was not a genuine smile. No, this one seemed a little more feral.

He was still smiling as he dialed in Rude's number.

"Yes, boss."

"Get Reno. I have a job for the both of you concerning the general. And while you're at it, I will inform you on another mission I have in mind."

"Yes, sir."

"Be sure to be here at Floor 49 in ten minutes."

The pair of them hung up without another word. In the meantime, Tseng studied the general. He certainly appeared exhausted to the point to fall asleep against a metal wall. The Turk was a little disturbed upon seeing dark circles under Sephiroth's eyes. He was not accustomed to witness the general under any form of stress.

'_Where are the commanders? Oh, wait. Hewley is on a mission in Wutai and Rhapsodos is having another Drama Queen moment.'_

This time he could not resist the urge and pinched the bridge of his nose anyway. He could feel the headache coming back. Decided that the general was indeed asleep and not poisoned, Tseng thought over the conversation he had with the young recruit.

He was thinking over about the boy's height and lithe body when it hit him.

'_Why didn't I notice? Of course it was dark, I was barely able to see much of anything, but Strife has the exact same build as that blond concubine from Kalm.'_

Finally he had a link, a thread to latch on. Yes, he could be stretching the facts a little, but there was no doubt in his mind now. If Strife spoke in a different accent with little intelligence, then yes, it was the same voice as the boy he witnessed with the mayor. If he was careful and took his time, then Shin-Ra could finally have Gunslinger in their grasp.

The predatory smile returned just as the other two Turks appeared. While it was obvious Reno was drunk as he staggered towards him, they appeared in less than five minutes. Well, that set a record on Reno's part. The boy was a genius when fighting in the streets, but other than that, he didn't give a damn about appearances.

Eventually experience will change him, preferably before the redhead got himself killed.

"Yo, boss! What's with the creepy ass smile? Ya look like you're gonna murder somebody or somethin'...Whoa!" Reno threw his arms about and nearly toppled over. Rude reached out with one arm and caught his partner before he could crack his skull open.

Tseng sighed. His good mood just been shot through the heart. Although he was patient as anyone could be around the street rat, even he was beginning to simply give up on the young man like so many others. Even Veld couldn't handle the boy.

No, no. There will be no giving up. Not if he could help it. Whatever Veld saw in Tseng when he was an orphaned child stealing from tourists, he did not give up on him even with both the president and the army breathing down his neck. He might as well do the same for the foul mouthed street rat he personally recruited into the Turks.

"Since you're drunk to the point of harming yourself, I'll be informing your current mission to your partner."

"Why's the general takin' a snooze here? Tha' wall is gonna give him horrible backaches when he wakes up. Speaking from experience, yo."

Tseng briefly debated whether he should waste his time reprimanding the redhead. He decided against it, for the young man probably won't even remember this encounter come morning.

"Rude, I need your help moving the general. It is most likely Sephiroth had little if any sleep this past week. In the meantime Reno, it will be your job to open doors and selecting the floors at the elevator. And for the love of Gaia, please don't send us to the wrong floor."

"You got it boss." Reno lazily saluted, nearly falling over again but instead ended up leaning against his partner.

Tseng resisted the urge to smack the young man upside the head.

It took some time, for the Turks did not have the strength of mako flowing through their bodies, but eventually Tseng and Rude were able to get Sephiroth upright. Together they each carried a portion of the general's weight as they slowly made their way to the elevator.

To Reno's credit, he didn't push the wrong button or light all of them up like the devious child he was. Tseng filed away the new bit of information. He will have to experiment, as well as be twice as firm and careful, but he could possibly get Reno to pull his weight around in the office _if _he allowed him to indulge in drinking.

That was a very probable if. At worst, the plan could backfire. Not to mention Reno could very well trip over air and harm himself or others in the process, as he was always prone to do when he's had too much alcohol in his system. Maybe he should resort to this method as a last resort.

When they finally put the general to bed and exited his floor, Rude made an inquiry.

"…Who found the general?"

"A recruit found him as he was wandering around. Which reminds me, I'm going to inform you of your other mission. This one will take some time to accomplish, so neither of you will be doing anything else until it is completed."

"Hells yeah! I've been gettin' tired of stalking your girl, yo. I mean, she's pretty and all, but she's not my type." Reno threw his arms up in a hoorah fashion.

To their surprise he didn't lose his balance this time.

"Oh I assure you, you'll still be stalking. But I'm changing your target to one Recruit Cloud Strife."

=3=

Cloud was just walking back to the barracks, thinking over in his head about meeting Tseng in the flesh. Now that he had met the man, he could see why all recruits, SOLDIER or Turk, avoided him as much as possible. He was still surprised as to why the Turk let him go after declining his offer into joining the Turks. He had feared the man would not take kindly to his response.

And yet Tseng surprised him by letting him go, saying it was late and he could call up a few of the other Turks to assist him. It was probably his way of sending away a promising recruit without doing any bodily harm to him.

Or perhaps it would give Tseng the pleasure of taking his rejection out on the other Turks. But that just seemed unlikely. Tseng did not seem that type of man.

Just as he made it to the first floor lobby, he stepped out he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Hey, spiky!"

And before he knew it, Cloud was tackled to the floor with the heavy smell of alcohol and perspiration. He felt like he was being squeezed to death from the strong grip the other man had around him.

"Can't…breathe…"

"Oh, sorry!" The other pulled away, getting up and pulling the recruit up on his feet. Upon seeing the man's face, Cloud felt like he was kicked in the gut by fate.

For there, standing before him, was none other than Lt. Zack Fair with his lopsided grin.

"I didn't know you were around. I've been trying to talk to you all week, you know? But I didn't seek you out during celebration, honest, I was just on my way to check on Seph. I got a call from him and then he hung up without saying a word! The bastard."

He was speaking so fast it took a moment for the blond to process what was said. At the last bit, Cloud dreaded what he had done. Darn it, he should have gone with a drunken First than the Turk.

"Lt. Fair, sir. I was just on my back to the barracks." Might as well feign he did not know the circumstances the First summarized.

"Wait, you haven't gone around celebrating?" Zack tilted his head, as if he somehow knew Cloud had not been out with his friends.

"Partying isn't my sort of thing, sir…"

At the sir part the lieutenant frowned. "Cut the sir, makes me feel old and wrinkly."

Cloud couldn't help but chuckle at the last bit. Feeling encouraged, Zack promptly threw an arm around the private's shoulders as if they were old buddies reunited.

"C'mon! It's fun! Don't tell me you're from some backwater town and never experienced the city life!"

And before he knew it, Zack was leading them towards the front doors. He was probably not escorting the recruit towards the barracks, he suspected.

"Actually, yeah…."

"Pffft. I'm from Gongaga! And that's not stopping me from enjoying the life!"

At that Cloud started laughing. At the sound Zack stopped to frown.

"What? What? What's wrong with Gongaga?"

"Nothing! It's just…such a backwater name." The blond couldn't help but keep on laughing. He had honestly thought the lieutenant was a city boy through and through.

Zack pulled away crossing his arms as if offended. "So what? You mentioned you're from some small town. You got something better?"

"Originally I was born in Nibelheim. But when it was attacked by monsters father and I moved to Rocket Town to raise me until we went around as merchants."

At the mention of Nibelheim the First doubled over in laugher. "Oh Gaia…Nibelheim…that's worse than Gongaga!"

"No it isn't! And doesn't Gongaga have a reactor?"

"Yeah, but so did Nibelheim! You know what they say about when there's a reactor, there's –"

"– Nothing else out there." The two finished in perfect sync.

Cloud found himself bursting out laughing with the First. Who knew they had such a common link? And when the First wasn't teaching trying to be more serious than he really was, he was fun.

"C'mon! I'll go show you the best bars in town! You gotta experience Midgar at least once!"

Cloud couldn't hold back a smile. Perhaps it wasn't so bad to make friends with a First after all.

=3=

Tseng hadn't realized the time as he sat down in his office chair until the rays of the sun began to seep in through the windows. With an irritated sigh, the Turk decided to let the last of the paperwork until after a well deserved nap.

But before he could even remove his suit, there was still an unexplained itch. It was something that compelled him to turn on his computer and pulled up the Shin-Ra records. Ever since the file was sent to him, the name Strife rang a bell. Tseng didn't have the time to search into the name until now.

And there was something strikingly familiar about the recruit. Not just because of his hunch of the boy being the same concubine at Kalm. This was something he hadn't noticed the boy was familiar to him until he met the recruit face to face.

This was an itch he knew that would never go away until he put up a few more minutes of staring at a bright screen.

Tseng typed in Strife and hit the enter key and let the computer do the rest. The records took little time of granting him the information, which was odd. With so much information crammed into the computers about everything from the president to the army, the Turks, down to the janitors and clerks.

Normally when he did a search, it would take a minute or two for the results he desired.

The first thing that came up was an article dated sixteen years past. Curious, Tseng began reading.

_**Commander Strife: A General, or Enemy?**_

_Those of you may well know about First Class SOLDIER Commander Cirrus Strife, otherwise known as "the Wolf of Shin-Ra Army", a man in his prime and about to be promoted to the title as General of the Army. His name made the papers during the scandal of his marriage to the daughter of a Turk. The marriage took a surprising turn when the union made Commander Strife popular amongst the commons. Even the people of the slums rejoiced in his name._

_But do we truly know the man? Just a few days ago Commander Strife turned against the company without warning. One moment he was calm and collected. The next, he turned and began to slaughter anyone in his path. He attacked and killed men under his own command, nearly wiping out his entire unit._

_His men were too surprised to fight back, rattled to the very core how the man they've loyally followed would do a complete one eighty. _

"_It was like he was possessed or something." A Second Class said. "He was so vicious. We were too used to seeing a kind man ready to defend the weak. _

"_He never enjoyed killing, even when he was protecting the innocent from a swarm of monsters. And yet here he was, laughing like a crazed man and enjoying the sight of the blood he spilled."_

_The SOLDIER visibly shivered. "The moment he turned on us, we never had a chance."_

_It has been estimated Commander Cirrus Strife killed ninety-eight of his hundred and twenty men of his unit, fifty-five Second Class SOLDIERs from under Commander Clemens' command, including seventy-two of Third Class under the same man, and three Turks. Later twenty SOLDIERs, Second and Third class alike, died from their wounds._

_All in all, Commander Strife killed two hundred and forty-eight men and women, as two of the Turks were women. That is nearly three hundred people slain by his hand. _

_Commander Clemens, a First Class, nearly died himself when he took on Strife. He suffered a fatal blow to the head, which would most likely end his career as a commander in arms. But because he was a First, he distracted Strife long enough for the Turks to shoot him with enough tranquilizers to bring down a fully grown male chocobo._

_So intent Commander Strife was, to kill or maim as many as he could that tranquilizers had almost little to no effect on him for any normal human. Whatever drove Strife to turn against the company with such velocity, such a state of hate, it still remains a mystery. _

_Once Commander Strife was down he succumbed to the tranquilizers pumping through his system and never regained consciousness. Whatever the reasons behind this shocking and terrible event died with him, for the company was hoping to keep him alive for questioning in the hopes of perhaps saving him if possible._

_It has also been noted that in the same day his five months pregnant wife, Rachel Strife, vanished. She most likely took the advantage of the chaos and left the city without an explanation. The Turks are trying to locate Mrs. Strife in the hopes she could shed some light into her husband's behavior, but thus far have little luck._

_All of this seemed too perfectly timed. Was the married couple working together? If so, why? The only reason for them to take such drastic measures was to protect their unborn child. But from what? And why did Commander Strife have to kill so many, instead of turning to the company for help? _

_Or perhaps we knew nothing about the commander. He may have well been insane without anyone noticing, blending in so well he could pass off as a normal man. Maybe he was a ticking time bomb the company did not foresee. And perhaps out of embarrassment, Mrs. Strife fled in order to raise her child without the shadow of his or her father's actions haunting them._

_But this raises even more questions. Why didn't Shin-Ra see the warning signs? If they did, why didn't they take actions to prevent this event from happening? Why did it have to take so many lives to bring down a once promising future general?_

_Disturbing questions these may be, but the circumstances demand it. Shin-Ra should learn from this harrowing experience and do more to prevent it from happening again. The company has lost two hundred and forty-nine lives. _

_Commander Cirrus Strife did not have to die like a dog. Either way, we have lost one of the strongest men in the army. A man who could very well have brought upon the army a golden age, as before now SOLDIERs have been looked upon as useless mercenaries. Or if this event had happened later in his career as the general, he could have been the army's very own destruction._

Next to the title was a photo of the commander in question. It was a close up of his face, a young handsome face. Commander Strife had white blond hair spiked in all directions in a similar fashion to his son's, but shorter in length. While Cloud's spikes were prominently leaning towards his right, his father's hair was the opposite.

What was the most prominent feature were the unnatural pale green eyes. This was just before mako was introduced to the SOLDIER program, and while the eyes of a SOLDIER were unnaturally glowing, former Commander Strife's seemed a little more…natural, if that made any sense at all.

Yes, Tseng remembered now. He met the man only once, and he barely remembered the event this article spoke of. He only remembered the man because he was the first after Veld to show any interest in him. Strife had been kind and respectful to him, even though at the time Tseng had horrible manners to rival Reno's (but without the cursing and drinking, mind you).

Then a horrifying thought came to him then.

Cloud mentioned his _father_. Was it truly his father, or was it someone else who took on the fatherly role? And where is the boy's mother? Did the boy know of the circumstances of his father's death, if he truly is dead? Was he here for revenge?

What's more, what was his connection to Gunslinger?

Or perhaps the boy really is Gunslinger's apprentice, and in a strange twist views themselves as father and son.

Either way, Tseng was not going to let this boy slip through his fingers.

=3=

Shado: I told you there would be someone that hasn't been around in a while. Since like, the first chapter actually. There were some good guesses, like Angeal. And yes, he did play a part in this chapter, but he wasn't the main focus here. I chose Tseng for many reasons.

1) Despite his cold exterior and the sort of creepy stalking Aerith thing, I actually love this guy. There isn't much known about his background, which gives me the opportunity to have some fun. Provided it went well with the story and gave a little more insight into his character that we see in the original game, Crisis Core, and the movie.

2) Since he is either mostly or full Wutainese in origin, then shouldn't there be some form of distrust among the rest of Shin-Ra? Yes, he's well respected as we can plainly see in his interactions with Turks and SOLDIER alike, but wouldn't that _not_ be the case at the very beginning? Mind you, I put a lot of thought into this guy's origins, and it occurred to me he should have had some sort of mountain to climb over about his race.

3) We never actually get to see this guy smile. I thought, maybe, now and then, he could have a predatory smile. Of course, it would be rare and it would only happen before all the craziness that went on in Crisis Core, I imagine. So enjoy his lovely smiles while it lasts, ladies. There will come a time where he won't smile ever again.

So. I brought in more of Tseng, and it would seem he is on the right track on capturing Gunslinger. And finally the start of a beautiful friendship between Zack and Cloud! I mean, c'mon, we all saw this coming. Not to mention I introduced Cloud's father since we know nothing about his parents other than his mother (and even then, we don't know much about her anyway), I could do whatever I want with his father. Oh the possibilities are endless.

Without further ado, please leave a review!


	7. Past Reflections

Shado: I did say I was going to update more often. I didn't say it was going to be an immediate update. You have to remember I like giving long chapters. Unfortunately, it comes at a price. Doubt.

Anywho, I did some interesting choices here. A few were made on a whim, simply to keep time flowing and going as well as fill in space that can also be useful for plot.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Though I do own Cirrus Strife. And Sgt. Clemens, now that I think about it. Oh, and Cloud's recruit buddies!

**Chapter VII** – Past Reflections

"_Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

From the television show _The Wonder Years_

=3=

_The air was hot and thick, as if the air conditioner was dead and the entire house was closed off from outside air. To top it off it wasn't even a house but a small apartment complex. Outside through the window in the living room revealed a perfect view of Midgar. The city was shiny and bright, the sky overhead clear of all pollution._

_And yet the air was suffocating. It was a curse how Midgar experienced a short winter and then summer weather for the rest of the year. Someone opens up a window somewhere around the corner, presumably the kitchen. Footsteps then came around, the owner picking up a fan and plugging it in to face it towards a young woman sitting on the couch. She was drinking a glass of lemonade with fresh ice cubes already half way through melting entirely._

_She wore a plain blue dress with white floral lace at the rims of the sleeves and around the collar of the neck. The dress was loose to comfortably stretch around her bulging stomach. It was obvious the woman was heavily pregnant. _

_Someone leaned over the back of the couch to press a gentle kiss on her cheek. The woman smiled, reaching up with her free hand to run her fingers through soft spikes that seem to defy gravity on their own accord. A man's chuckle sounded through the air._

_His voice was smooth as water flowing over polished pebbles of a thin creek. It was a wonder why someone with such an angelic voice chose a simple woman like her. She questioned herself when she was feeling down, why he chose her at all. _

_She was beautiful in a simplistic way. Natural blond hair that was long and thin. Most men in the city preferred women with thick hair compared to hers. Her skin was flawless, pale despite the harsh sun here in the city that was built in the middle of a desert. On any occasion most ignored her for she burned more than she tanned. If no one can tan, then you hold no role in society._

_Perhaps her only beautiful trait was her deep blue eyes could put a polished and freshly cut sapphire to shame. _

_Then she would berate herself for thinking she was not good enough for her Chosen. Whatever he saw in her was worth the fight against Turk and SOLDIER alike to take her hand in marriage. And for that she was grateful. She did not know what she would have done if they could not join together in the name of love._

_She lovingly rubbed her belly as he came around to sit next to her. Her eyes followed his every movement, entranced on how someone could be so graceful compared to the normal human. She often wondered if he was not mortal, or more like an alien being in disguise. It would certainly explain his unearthly handsome features._

_Skin was as pale as hers seem to glow, never burning even under the intense heat. Right now she could see more of his skin since he wore a sleeveless shirt and adorned only in his boxers around his waist. His hair was wild and had the appearance to be hard as a porcupine's back. Instead the strands of hair were always soft to the touch. They reminded her of petting a newly groomed chocobo._

_His eyes were so striking, at the first meeting of him she was afraid to stare into them for too long. She had been afraid his eyes would capture her soul and devour her. Now she couldn't get enough of the pale emerald eyes. And like his skin they too, glowed. Such an intensity his eyes were that it was no wonder people called him a Wolf._

_She was aware of the stories of how he was in battle. He was fierce and brutal, never allowing his emotions to interfere in the mission. His skill with the sword held no match no matter the enemy. He could shoot from ten kilometers away with a small handheld gun. It was no mystery why the Turks were so interested in recruiting him._

_Yes, he could be deadly. He could be a force to be reckoned with. She was aware of that. _

_But he had never been anything more than caring and gentle towards her. Off the field he was serious and all about work. Even to his men he shared nothing more than a few smirks or jokes to lighten the atmosphere. Towards her he was all smiles and laughter. To her knowledge she was the only person who has ever heard him truly laugh._

_She didn't mind at all, of course. So long as he kept his eyes solely on her, she will be more than happy to listen to him laugh and hum and sing as he liked to do when the pressures of being a soldier was not hanging over his shoulders. Sometimes she would wish he would retire from the field to become a singer. But then his voice wouldn't be hers to treasure. _

"_I hope they would fix the air conditioner soon. You burn too easily, Rachel." Even as he was worried he smiled anyway._

"_Father and his coworkers say I'm better off living somewhere in the north. That way I won't have to suffer from sunburn." She laughed despite her own discomfort. _

"_When I retire, let's move up north then. I know of the perfect place to go, too. Nibelheim is secluded, the weather is colder yes, but I'm sure it will be heaven for you."_

"_You've been there before?"_

"_Only once." He nodded, his hair swaying with the movement. "I remember the forest and the sight of Mt. Nibel towering over the town. It was pretty being there. It's nice and calm too, once you get used to the people."_

"_Can't be as bad is the people here." She took another sip of her lemonade, noting the ice had melted since her last sip._

_His melodious laugh brightened the room, and for a moment she forgot her discomfort. She rubbed her stomach again. This time she glanced down to stare in wonder._

"_Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?"_

_His face changed then. He was no longer carefree as he was. He stared off into space, deep in thought. It was many moments to pass before he spoke again. His voice was pained, as if he knew he didn't want to reveal a horrible secret she was better off not knowing._

"_It will be a boy, love. No matter what the child will be a boy. I wish it were not so, but that is what it means to be a Strife. We can never have a daughter, no matter how hard we try, no how hard we pray to the Planet."_

_He knew she wanted a daughter. She wanted a beautiful little girl with her hair but thicker, and his eyes and glowing skin. She also knew he wanted a girl, too. But for whatever reason he refrained from the strained expressions whenever she brought up the subject until now. Whatever it was he was afraid to tell her, she did not care. If they were going to have a boy then so be it. Still, she knew he was not lying. He wouldn't look at her in the eyes if he was._

_She will cherish and love the boy she helped create. Her son will be his son, and that was enough. She reached out to his hand and pulled it over her stomach, holding the hand that had killed so many over where their child was growing. He stared at her in wonder and disbelief, but said not a word when their eyes met._

"_You shouldn't worry, Cirrus. Our son will be showered with love and live a happy life. And if we still want a girl, there is always adoption. And together we can raise our children without the fear of SOLDIER, Turk, or war of any kind."_

_For a moment he stared at her, expression blank as her words slowly registered. Then she could see his eyes glisten as tears welled up. For a second she was frightened. She had never seen him cry. Finding no words to comfort him she reached out and embraced him, and instinctively he leaned his head against her chest. In this new position he allowed the tears to flow, racking his body with such a force he would surely have hiccups as a result._

_His hand was still over her stomach, now it was rubbing gentle circles. She returned the action with both hands around his shoulder blades, massaging the tense muscles there. She could tell he had been worrying about her reaction, whether she would be disappointed with having a son, or how she would feel she could never bear a daughter. She could sense relief in him, even as he was pouring out these tears._

_Soon she began to softly hum a sweet lullaby he would hum to her every night before she fell asleep. It was a slow lullaby with a few sad notes, but it was still calming and sweet. It sounded wrong in her ears for her voice to portray the lullaby, it sounded so much better with his voice. Still he had started calming down. And soon he joined in._

_Together with their hands over her stomach, they hummed to their child, to their son. _

Cloud awoke in a soft bed next to someone who gave off more body heat than needed. With a frustrated grunt the blond blindly kicked the covers off and scooted away from the source of the heat. It was then that with great clarity that he was not in the barracks, and therefore he was in someone else's bed.

Startled, the blond sprang up too fast for his head to take. It felt like his brain was rattled too much inside his skull and left behind a dull ache that intensified due to the harsh light surrounding him. Cloud had promptly fell back down with a groan, arm over his eyes in the hopes to distinguish the effects the sunlight had on his mental state.

He felt something shift next to him. The blond then remembered the reason why he panicked just seconds before. Cloud tensed, unsure if his random bed mate was friend or foe.

"Mornin' to you too, Spike." The familiar voice of Zack reached his ears, and the blond lifted his arm to see the man yawn.

Cloud visibly relaxed. Yes, he remembered the night before now. The pair of them had been out dancing at random bars he could not fathom the names of. A few times Zack sneaked him a couple of beers to lighten the mood up. Or maybe it was more than a few…

At any rate, it was better he had woken up in Zack's bed than in the barracks. He was sure the others would be as loud as ever despite their own hangovers to deal with. Still it felt awkward to wake up in a bed with a stranger who had just turned friend.

"I imagine you've got a killer migraine, huh?" The First chuckled lightly. "I remember those days. Then I got injections of mako and well, I don't feel the effects of alcohol anymore. I mean I can still get drunk, but I don't feel anything in the morning. Although lately I've noticed it's taking a lot more drinks to get me dizzy…"

"Lucky bastard…" Cloud mumbled, completely forgetting the First had super hearing.

"Yep! That's me, the lucky First Class Zack Fair extraordinaire."

The recruit flinched when Zack's voice took a higher pitch. His ears felt like they were going to bleed if the man was going to continue his hyperactive attitude in his presence.

"Oh yeah, you're just a recruit. Let me get you some miracle tea. Trust me it works on getting over even the worst of hangovers."

Miracle tea? Really? How did this man become a First again?

Cloud knew there was an answer, but his head hurt too much to remember. At some point the blond began to doze off as the First took his time. Eventually when Zack came back with a warm cup of tea in hand, he had also taken the liberty to make pancakes for his guest.

Slower this time, Cloud sat up with a grateful smile.

"Here you are. Hope you like pancakes. By the way, Spike? What was with the humming earlier?"

The blond had just cut a piece with his fork and looked up at the question. He was confused on what Zack had meant.

"Humming? I was humming?"

"Yeah, you were humming just before you sat up when you realized where you were. It was a little sad, but still a nice lullaby."

Cloud tilted his head, but then straightened when it gave his head a dull throb. "I don't remember humming…"

This time it was Zack's turn to cock his head to one side. "Really? Huh…could have sworn you were humming. It was your voice, I know that."

The First was giving him an odd look as if the recruit had grown an extra head right then and there.

The blond snorted. "I don't talk in my sleep, Zack. So stop that train of thought right there."

Zack pouted one of the most ridiculous pouts Cloud had ever seen. "You sure you don't remember humming?"

"I'm pretty sure I would remember humming, Zack." The blond began eating by taking a few bites. He had to say, the First knew how to make killer pancakes despite his hyper attitude. One would think he didn't have the coordination to operate a kitchen.

His head was still throbbing and so the recruit took a tentative sip of the tea. It didn't taste burnt or the teabag left too long in the water. With unexplained eagerness Cloud took a bigger sip. The warmth of the tea going down felt good.

"Maybe you're going crazy and hearing things." The blond casually joked.

"Oh, so there is someone in there with a sense of humor." Zack grinned, at which earned him a giggle.

"But seriously, I heard humming. Since you don't believe me, I'll hum it to you."

From there the First began to hum. At first it was tentative, as he had heard it only one time. Once he got the rhythm down he had the confidence to get it right. Cloud paused in eating his breakfast when he realized the lullaby was familiar.

After a minute of listening he remembered why. It was a lullaby his mother hummed. She hummed it while doing the dishes, doing the laundry, dusting the living room. She hummed the lullaby to him when he was sick or had trouble sleeping. And sometimes in the deepest part of his memories, he could hear a male voice humming in tune with her.

As a child the lullaby was calming. It soothed the bruises and the scratches from the bullies. It calmed his temper in the want to act upon his vengeance for being treated like trash by the other children. But he always wondered why his mother seemed so sad when she hummed such a sweet sounding lullaby.

Now, at the age of sixteen, he knew why. There was a bitter tone in the notes he did not notice before. How could he? At a young age he knew only of anger, happiness, and the world seemingly harmless beyond the bullying he bravely put up with. He knew now what he did not then. The world was cruel. Everything he ever cherished could wither away like a flower.

Cloud didn't know he was crying until Zack embraced him, whispering sweet nothings into his ear with words he did not understand. He didn't realize he had been humming, too, but he still continued on even though his sobs threatened to ruin the lullaby. All he knew was the lullaby that he had forgotten until now. And since he had bottled everything of the past up and locked it away, all of his emotions of the tragedies came flooding out.

He could still remember the day the monsters attacked. He remembered the screams, the sight and smell of blood staining the fresh snow. He remembered his mother trying to keep the two of them safe for as long as possible as they ran into the forest. He remembered the surprise and welcomed relief he felt upon seeing Vincent coming towards him, taking down any monsters in his path with his gun.

He remembered his mother passing him to Vincent before turning around and running back to the chaos. He remembered screaming after her, screaming with all of his might for her to come back. She had turned back to give them time, precious time Vincent needed to put some distance between them and Nibelheim.

And he remembered hearing an anguish howl that was neither mortal nor beast crying with him. To this day he did not know if it was his imagination or if he truly heard it with his own ears, for the howl seemed distant and faded. What's more it echoed through his very body, like the vibration of a ringing bell.

As the memories came flooding back, Cloud almost spilled the beans and told Zack everything. His defenses were already broken. It was only by chance he caught himself before the words came out. He wanted to talk to someone for so long about what happened ten years ago, Cloud almost forgot of his promise with Beast.

Even so, he trusted Zack enough to tell a portion of the truth. At least tell enough as a way to explain his momentary breakdown.

"That lullaby…my mum used to sing it to me a lot. The song helped calm my temper if I got too wound up. When the monsters attacked…She didn't make it. She gave us time…enough time to escape…"

At that the First tightened his hold, finding no words to comfort as a knot tightened in his chest. He needed nothing more as an explanation, and Cloud sensed it. His smaller body relaxed in the embrace. He was almost dozing off again. Meanwhile in the back of Zack's mind he learned an answer he didn't know he had been seeking out about the boy.

Ever since he first laid eyes on Cloud, Zack had the impression this was a boy who saw more of the world than a seasoned soldier. He had wondered why that at the rare moments he saw the boy drop his guard, why he saw deep pain and sadness that had yet to come out. Now he understood. At least he understood a portion why the recruit was this way.

=3=

Time seems to have a flow once one gets used to the routine. Although being a recruit was exhausting, Cloud started to notice that his body was starting to gradually change because of the process. His arms were beginning to develop muscles, not define muscles compared to some of the other cadets, but still noticeable. He had the beginnings of abs starting to take form on his smooth stomach. It was still too flat to his liking, but at least he was going somewhere.

Even though his arms and abs were failures in his eyes, his legs seemed to have the most success. Although he was fast to begin with he has more endurance in running longer distances for a greater amount of time. Whenever there was a group activity he at least had the advantage of covering a lot of ground. As for getting through the questionably dangerous obstacles in the course, that was where the challenge lay for him.

What was embarrassing was that Xaoli and Ozzie can leave him in the dust in the obstacle course. Cloud didn't understand why he was having so much trouble when he had the speed and endurance to beat the time limit set on them. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact Drill Training was scheduled as the last class for the day when he's already physically exhausted from Training. Honestly, why couldn't they put the two training classes together instead of dividing it in half?

It was as if the company wanted to torture the poor recruits. What Cloud found disturbing was that if a cadet was proven not to take well to mako treatments then they will never be accepted into the SOLDIER program even if they showed potential. At current moment Cloud wasn't doing a spectacular job of proving he's worth joining the program. But he wasn't failing, either, so he at least has a small chance.

Though his performance overall was due to because he hadn't stretched his wings since training started. As a recruit he didn't have permission to go out and roam Midgar to locate someplace safe and away from prying eyes to let his wings out. And he couldn't find any hiding place that didn't have any cameras or too many eyes watching him.

What's more he was beginning to think he was being shadowed. This complicated things even more for the blond. Ever since he met Tseng, Cloud kept a watchful eye of the people around him. He made sure not to be alone in the hallways or in the restrooms. He even held off taking a shower unless one of the other Misfits was going to take one.

Yet still he felt the prickling feeling that he was being followed. Now and then he thought he caught someone move too quick from the corner of his eye. When he turned his head to examine the mysterious shadow, there was nothing there. One time he thought he caught bright flaming red hair retreating into the shadows.

Although he was frightened for his life, Cloud refused to let his fear show. Once a Turk caught a whiff of panic then they have a trail to follow whatever secret their target was hiding. And so Cloud pretended he didn't notice eyes watching his every move. He pretended he was not being shadowed by a Turk. He was still aware of them, but he gave them no interest so long as they didn't try anything.

Though it was proving to be harder and harder not to confront his shadows as the pain on his shoulders worsened each day. But he was afraid the Turks would abduct him if he challenged whoever was following him. Still, the idea was becoming more tempting, as his wings screamed for a chance of release from their tight hold.

What brightened his day was the support from his recruit buddies as well as the encouragement of one Lt. Zack Fair. If he didn't have any friends then the blond wasn't sure how he could survive. At the very least if he was proven a failure with the mako treatments he could always leave and go back to being an assassin apprentice. Though he knew he would surely miss the few good things about being a recruit.

And before he knew it, the recruit program has already halfway done. Three months passed in a blur, and now their classes were being rescheduled as cadets were jumbled around. It turned out roughly half the cadets did training and strategies, while the other half learned how to make use of materia and Shin-Ra history. Although that didn't mean they would be out of Training and Drill Training. Those classes were the only ones to continue through the entire six month program.

Cloud was disappointed he didn't have classes with Zack anymore. Yet when he looked at his schedule for Materia and Swimming, he nearly did a double take. The instructor for both classes was none other than Commander Genesis Rhapsodos. He had been wondering when he was going to see the crimson commander again. And it wasn't like he could ask Zack to set up a meeting. The First always complained how the commander treated him so harshly, and so he knew the pair was not on good terms with each other.

And now here he was in Materia, with a group of other recruits waiting for the instructor to arrive. Apparently this was in the norm for the commander to make his students wait on the first day. And there were many students who were nervous for various reasons.

Some had heard how harsh Genesis treated the cadets just for the fun of it. Others heard he liked to throw fireballs at recruits as a means to discipline them. And sometimes if the entire class was unable to successfully use Materia, the commander would leave his students hanging for the rest of the program and not show up for class at all. From all the rumors he heard, Cloud was beginning to wonder if it was possible the commander was bipolar or something.

At the moment the blond wasn't nervous about who the instructor was. No, he was more worried about whether or not he can effectively use materia. Father has forbidden him to use them since he believes he would rely on magic too much. No, it takes skill to make it in the field of assassination. Or perhaps it was just an excuse for Father not to spend any gil on expensive globes when there was a chance Cloud could not use them. Now that he thought about it, he had never seen his Father use even one materia, so perhaps he was the one who couldn't use them.

Cloud was brought out of his musings when the door opened to reveal the commander. Pale blue gray eyes flew from one face to the other in quick examination. When the commander's gaze fell on the blond recruit the battle hardened eyes lingered on him. Cloud shivered at the sight of a growing smirk on the handsome face.

Almost immediately the rest of the class burst into whispers, pointing fingers and laughing at Cloud's direction. There was one other frightening rumor about the commander. He apparently has a cadet in every class that he absolutely adores torturing more than the rest. Apparently these recruits were jumping into conclusions and now believe that Recruit Cloud Strife was going to be Commander Rhapsodos' favorite punching bag.

Somehow Cloud didn't think it would come down to that. At least unless he proves he can't use a materia. If he can't then he can't gain an edge over the rest of the recruits when it comes down to the tests for the SOLDIER program.

And it would seem Genesis was aware of the rumors and the reactions of the class. He simply encouraged them when he didn't explain he met the blond before, instead going about straightening the class out to line up. Some still stifled giggles and chuckles at the poor short blond cadet with pretty eyes and crazy hair. Everyone was quick to follow the commander's order, and somehow Cloud was pushed to the front of the class for everyone to watch.

'_They might as well bring out the popcorn and sodas, too.'_ Cloud nearly rolled his eyes at the prospect.

"All right, recruits. This is the turning point of whether or not you can make it into the program." Genesis grabbed a green materia from the box presented to the class. "If you can't use a materia, then it will be very hard for you to continue training from here on."

"Sir, what about the mako tests? I thought that those tests determine whether or not you make it into SOLDIER." One recruit piped up.

"Yes, there are those. Those tests may make the majority of whether or not you pass. But if you cannot use materia effectively, then you won't get very far even if you do pass the mako testing." The commander began to play with the glass materia as if it were a baseball. "In the meantime, these here are all level one Thunder, Fire, and Ice materia. In normal circumstances an instructor allows the students to choose for themselves what materia to try out first, but I won't allow it."

A lot of the recruits groaned at the news. Genesis raised a hand to silence them. Immediately the class became as still as statue with the fear of the man using the materia in his other hand on them. They hoped the commander wasn't holding a Fire materia, as it was known full well the man favored fire over the other elements.

"There are also a few level one Cure materia. However, these are reserved for the instructor and class assistant in case someone gets burned, electrocuted, or a few frozen fingers. As we all know accidents can happen. And don't I know it more than anyone else. I've seen pretty much any accidents you can think of with a class full of cadets learning how to use materia."

The commander began to pace slowly before the front row, still absently playing with the materia from one hand to the other.

"So, here are the rules. Instead of everyone taking a materia and get going all at once, each of you will come up one by one and I hand you a materia at random. I will go over the basics with you and show you how to use it. Then it will be your turn. You can take as long as you like in activating the magic within. However, if you take more than ten minutes then I will have to ask for the materia back and you go back in line. For most, this will most likely happen. Of course this is only the first day, so I will be a little more lenient than the rumors you have heard of me."

At that there were many sighs of relief all around the room. The sound seemed to echo in the closed off space as it joined in with the sound of the commander's boots as he paced. Although Genesis turned his head away to hide a sly smirk, Cloud could still see it for a second or two from where he stood.

'_He must really enjoy torturing the recruits like this. I bet this is the only reason why he's willingly teaching in the first place.'_ Cloud had the sneaking suspicion that this was true.

And so Genesis called up the recruits one by one, going down the row and handed them a materia at random. A few could create a few sparks or a puff of flame. The ones that could activate a materia but not cause an accident Genesis quickly handed over a different elemental. Some could use Fire and Thunder. Others could use only Fire but not any of the other two. One managed to get a reaction from all three, but he was best with Thunder materia than the other two.

Genesis praised the recruit, saying he had a real good chance if he passed the mako tests. And it would seem that the commander was good at putting cadets at ease when he wasn't in his sadistic mood. When a cadet was having trouble concentrating on the task out of fear, his voice became soothing and deep almost in a memorizing way to coax the recruit to relax. Once or twice Cloud almost fell for the man's spell.

But then he remembered this man could easily raise his voice and lash out if he wanted to. Although he had never seen the commander in action, he knew from the rumors that there was a reason why the recruits feared this man as an instructor on materia.

It was almost too soon when it came to Cloud's turn. He dreaded having to go up there in front of the rest of the class and make a fool of himself. Even so, when Genesis called out his name, he took a deep breath. He held it in for a moment and then let it out. Gathering up what little courage he had Cloud stepped forward.

"Strife, I've heard a thing or two from Lt. Fair and Sgt. Clemens." Oh Gaia, the commander was set on teasing him. "Although I completely disapprove of the puppy for being biased, I can't ignore a good report from Clemens. I remember a time when that old man was a commander, and thus one of the few I respect."

At the words Cloud blinked. The commander wasn't going to make fun of him?

"So if you can use a materia you should be in the green. Or at least until the mako tests come back. But if you can't properly use materia…" The devilish smirk was back. "Let's see if that hair of yours can protect you from being electrocuted."

Laughter broke out in the entire room. Blood rushed to the blond's cheeks and ears. Was it possible to die from embarrassment?

"So then, let's see what you can do." Genesis grabbed hold of an unused materia from the metal box before handing it over to the recruit. "That is a level one Thunder. Try to extend your mind and see if you can sense it. Think of it something akin to opening your senses during meditation."

'_What an interesting way to put it.'_ Cloud raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.

And so the blond recruit decided to meditate first. Once he calmed his mind from all that was distracting, he reached out with his mind to the glass ball in his right hand. It felt strange to feel so much power into one condensed ball. He could feel the lightning ready to burst through. And so he released it with all of his might.

Then before he knew it the lights went out with an explosion and there were frightened screams.

=3=

Sephiroth was making his rounds in taking a peek into the classes. Now that the six month program was halfway done he needed to see for himself how the recruits were holding up. As a general it was his duty to see for himself any potential men who could make it into SOLDIER. He didn't go into the classes unless someone truly caught his eye, which was rare. For the most part the silver general watched from the one way glass. This way no one would see him and feel pressured from the knowledge the general was nearby.

He happened to come across the red commander's morning Materia class. He caught sight of the recruit Zack had been talking non-stop about for the past three months. Sephiroth wasn't quite sure if it had been a dream, but he vaguely remembered meeting the recruit during his exploits of his search for coffee after going an entire week without sleep.

Since then the Turks, namely Tseng, has come by his office to check on him to ensure he was doing well. He wasn't pleased at all about having the Turks shadow him so his health was top notch as if they were his personal babysitters. He was nearly twenty six, darn it, there was no need for the Turks to watch him as if he was about to go insane.

Though there have been stories resurfacing about a commander about to become general before Sephiroth went off the deep end. He had yet to look into the matter if the story was true or not. Perhaps he could bring it up the next time Tseng strolled into his office uninvited.

Sephiroth blinked when it was Private Strife's turn. He watched as Genesis embarrassed the poor boy, eliciting laughter from the rest of the class. Although he did not appreciate the commander's methods, he rather liked the sight of a blush creeping up the blond's face. He almost smiled as dark thoughts played in his mind on what else he could do to receive a similar reaction.

Mako green eyes studied the blond as he held the object in his hand for a few minutes. As the blond began to focus, Sephiroth saw those blue eyes darken. At the sight the general raised an eyebrow while he recognized meditation of the greatest degree that would take someone years to master.

'_Oh? Where did _this _diamond in the rust come from?'_ Sephiroth was tempted to step into the room.

When the boy was ready, he released the power within the materia. In an instant lightning flew out. It reached out to the lights above since it was attracted to the electricity. The lights of the entire room flickered and then exploded. There was immediate panic as the class ran outside in fear of lightning striking them as they ran.

Sephiroth remained calmly by the door and waited for the blond cadet responsible to bolt out, materia still in one hand. With the gracefulness that rivaled a cat catching its prey the general grabbed hold of the materia and twirled the recruit around to face him. Should he really admit that seeing fear in those lovely blue eyes pleased him? The recruit was a mere _boy_ compared to him.

Not to mention he saw great potential for Strife to become a SOLDIER, possibly even a First Class rank. It has been a while since he received a report of a recruit sending the entire class to flee from the classroom.

"S-Sir! I…I didn't realize you were watching, general! Sir." The recruit clumsily saluted with the wrong hand.

Cat like pupils dilated for a fraction of a second. Yes, he really did actually meet this boy. That was no dream he had some three months prior. He remembered thinking how a boy could have such an angelic voice. And now that he was in clearer mind Sephiroth was beginning to wonder why he hadn't sought out the recruit much, much earlier.

At the boy's exclamation the rest of the class scrambled to salute. Before he could put them at ease Genesis strolled out of the classroom with a wide grin. He began laughing without a care like a hyena.

"You boys should have seen your faces! Oh, goddess, it was so priceless! Who knew Strife could have such a knack for materia!"

"Perhaps you should call forth for an electrician? You know that once a classroom is out of action it costs us money." Sephiroth hated to interrupt his friend's fun, but this was work. He had to set an example in front of the future warriors of Shin-Ra.

Genesis abruptly stopped laughing when he heard his voice. The commander turned to glare at him. If he had a Fire materia at hand he would have surely attempted to set the general on fire. Sephiroth was grateful that what he held in his hand was a Thunder. Or else Genesis would have reached for it.

After a tense moment the commander smiled, as if relieved to see the return of an old friend. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. He had the sneaking suspicion Genesis was up to something. He was proven right when the commander next spoke.

"General Sephiroth, old friend. How about I make that call, and you take these recruits to the training rooms? I imagine they will need more practice with the sword." A few recruits were near jumping at the suggestion while others appeared they were going to be sick.

"And I don't suppose you will wander off and enjoy the rest of the class hour reading poetry?"

"Of course not! I promise I'll return before they're done sparring. Besides, Sgt. Clemens should be there, too. At least you won't be alone, general." And before Sephiroth could summon Masamune out of thin are and run her through the commander, Genesis turned and walked away.

He was fast walking, and he turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Taking a moment to calm himself Sephiroth thought over several tactics to use when fighting against an enemy army. He imagined them to be multiples of Genesis' charging at him all at once. After going over numerous ideas on how to eliminate them, Sephiroth felt confident enough to face the recruits without taking his anger out on them.

"Right. Let's head to the sparring rooms. I wish to see how future warriors of Shin-Ra are coming along."

Upon entering the biggest sparring room, Sgt. Clemens was just about to leave. It would seem his previous class had just ended.

"Genesis was teaching about Materia. There was an accident, though no one was harmed." Sephiroth informed the older man. "I have brought them here for sparring practice until the commander's return."

Clemens raised his eyebrows in response before grinning. "I suppose I'll stick around a while longer. Some of this lot needs the practice."

Ten minutes later Sephiroth was bored out of his mind. Honestly, he didn't see anyone who stood out. Some of these fools should be heading back home now instead of face the tests that reveals a failure. Sephiroth was about to leave when a recruit who had been sparring poorly in front of him threw the helmet off. Blond spikes were dampened from perspiration, blue eyes hard from irritation and pain as he kicked the helmet away.

'_Why is he feeling pain? To cause such a reaction in his expression would only mean if he sustained a serious injury of some sort.'_ Still Sephiroth kept his silence and watched.

Strife readied with an even stance, raising the wooden sword as he nodded to his opponent. The other classmate lunged forward and readied a strike that could stagger the smaller boy. Strife leaned forward, putting half his weight into the block and off his feet. His legs must be stronger than the rest of him, for the boy did not budge when he should have.

The opponent was surprised, for up until now Strife was so easy to push around with their major height and weight difference. Strife took a step forward, it looked like he was about to kick his opponent but held back the reflex. Instead the blond whirled his sword to knock the other's sword to the side, but his opponent held a strong grip on his weapon. Still he was left wide open.

Strife took a swipe at an exposed rib cage but the recruit saw it coming and parried out of the way. The brute was beginning to aim another large strike at the boy, once again putting all of his strength into one attack. This time the blond parried to the side, his timing perfect. His opponent staggered forward, not having enough time to recover. When he did it was too late.

Strife's wooden sword was held right at the exposed neck. And there was nothing his opponent could do about it.

"Do you yield?" The blond spoke, his voice hardened, as if he experienced years of training and fighting.

"I…I yield." The brute was gasping, his energy spent.

Sephiroth stepped away from the wall he had been leaning on to casually make his way over. Strife and his opponent quickly saluted, dropping their wooden weapons. The entire room stopped what they were doing to watch with anticipation. All of them held their breath as the general circled around the two recruits that caught his interest.

"At ease, Private Strife. Private Walker." Sephiroth addressed them after eyeing their name tags.

The two recruits lowered their arms, but their backs were still tense. Of the two though, Strife appeared to be mostly calm by the way of his slow breathing compared to Walker. The bigger recruit was still recovering from the spar against the shorter boy.

"Private Walker." Sephiroth addressed first, voice hard as ice.

He heard the recruit gulp. Good, he could sense the change of mood by sound only. The general was currently behind them, but he continued to circle around and into their view.

"Do you wish to know why you lost this match?"

"Y-yes, sir. If it would please, you, sir. I wish to correct whatever mistakes I made."

Sephiroth merely nodded, pleased at the boy's honest response. "You underestimated your opponent. You used your height and strength to your advantage. Although I would praise you on exploiting any chances you had to win, you didn't change tactics when it was apparent Private Strife was gaining the upper hand."

"What's more you put all of your strength into one blow. Each attack became more tiresome as the match went on. You need to learn not only when to change your strategy, but when to control how much strength you put into your attacks." The general circled once more.

"I would advise you start by examining your opponent. Learn how they move, what their weaknesses would be, or, as in this case, if they gain the upper hand, how to counteract. Would you go running in with a full blown attack on a Midgar Zolom and hope for the best?" He stood in front of them now, back stiff and eyes focused on Walker.

"N-no, sir, I wouldn't… I wouldn't do that. I'll do my best from now on, sir."

"Then there is hope for you yet, Private Walker." Sephiroth turned his gaze on the shorter boy. "Private Strife."

"Yes, sir." Strife blinked, coming out of a meditated daze to focus on the general.

Sephiroth wished to praise the recruit, but there was the chance Strife would suffer for it. Any promising recruit who caught the interest of any high ranking officer would be the target of bullying. The boy was probably already the subject of such harsh treatments with his short stature and ridiculous blond spikes that defy gravity. And the general really wished to see Strife make it into the program. So instead he opted for reprimanding the private.

"Be more respectful towards Shin-Ra property. If there's even a crack on that helmet then you're paying for it."

"Sir, yes sir." Strife nodded, lowering his gaze to the floor.

Was that disappointment he was reading in the recruit? Well, when next he had the opportunity to speak with Strife in private he will be sure to praise him enough to lift his spirits. And it was good to know the recruit idolized him, if a bit more silent about it than the rest of the world.

"Well? I don't believe I gave the orders for the rest of you to take a break." Sephiroth eyed the rest of the class.

The general chuckled softly at the sight of recruits scrambling to continue sparring. Some even requested a chance against Strife, who turned them down for Walker, who the blond named Carter. So the boy had a friend, possibly more. It was better to go through the training program with a friend or two in order to survive in Sephiroth's opinion. A friend made life more appealing, at least.

"Good thing you didn't praise Strife, general." Clemens commented once Sephiroth joined him. "He's got enough problems already."

"Oh? You're familiar with him I take it?" The silver haired general tilted his head with interest.

"He's got a lotta heart, that one. Just like his ol' man. Takes after him in looks, too." Clemens nodded.

"You knew his father, then?" Sephiroth was surprised to say the least. As far as he could remember Clemens lived and breathed the military life. Since his retirement as a commander Clemens has been training recruits, trained Sephiroth even. In doing so the veteran hasn't left Shin-Ra premises for over a decade.

"Oh, yeah, this was before you were brought to us. His father was a commander. A good man, he was. He was going to be the general before you, but…"

"What happened to him?" Sephiroth was not seeing this as a good sign. If the boy's father didn't take well to mako, then there was a high chance the boy wouldn't either.

Clemens sighed, not meeting the general's eye. "Look, they said it was the mako the reason why he went crazy, but I don't believe it. Commander Strife was one of the first to volunteer for mako treatments. He tested positive to be a carrier and so he continued taking them. But just before Cloud was born, his father was starting to show signs of mental instability."

…Ah.

"So they removed him." Sephiroth was familiar on how well Shin-Ra can erase someone.

"But the timing was strange. Around the same time he turned against us, his heavily pregnant wife disappears. Of course it's no surprise she could escape from our radar. She was the daughter of a Turk." Clemens shrugged. "Anyway, you better not go around sticking your nose into this story, you hear? Or if you do, don't mention that you heard it from me. I stayed to keep Commander Strife's dream alive. And I aim to keep it that way until the day I die."

_'So Cloud Strife is the son of a SOLDIER Commander, and grandson of a Turk. The boy is proving to be an interesting enigma, for sure.'_ The general filed away the information for later.

"He sounds like an honorable man, this Commander Strife." Sephiroth leaned against the steel wall. "It's too bad I didn't have the chance to meet him."

"At least you got the boy." Clemens pointed out. "At first I wasn't sure if he was going to make the first week, but he proved to be as stubborn as his ol' man. And he's been getting better as training continues."

"Do you think he will make it into SOLDIER?" The general didn't want to get his hopes up.

"At this point I think he can get in so long as he passes the mako tests."

"In that case, you wouldn't mind if I request to take Private Cloud Strife as my pupil ahead of time, General Sephiroth?"

Sephiroth didn't have to peer around the sergeant to see an infuriating sight of a smirking Genesis.

=3=

Shado: There you have it. Sephiroth has met our adorable Cloud yet again. However, before he could steak a claim on the boy Genesis beat him to it. Oh, yes, this is going to be**_ lovely~_**

As to what song Cloud's parents were humming at the beginning of the chapter, it is _Why_ by Ayaka. But it's the instrumental version they're using. .

Also there is some MAJOR foreshadowing in this chapter. Finally the pieces are starting to be put together...now we just need roughly about several more. Speaking of which, there's a character that needs much loving. Do I hear anyone squeal or melt by the sound of Vincent Valentine's oh so lovely voice? No? Yes? Cuz his voice is one of the few aside from Sephiroth and Gackt/Genesis that makes me swoon~

Anywho, please leave a review.


	8. Angels Show Up in Strangest of Places

Shado: Man, I am on a roll! And I think this is one of the longest chaps I've done for this story. Anyway, lots of plot line revealed here! It's getting closer and closer to the point I'm so anxiously awaiting for! That's probably why I'm updating like crazy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, including the song _Looking For Angels_ by Skillet, where the title of this chapter is sort deprived from the lyrics. I had to delete a word to make the title fit in the upload.

**Chapter Eight** – Angels Show Up in Strangest of Places

"_I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."_

~ Bill Cosby

=3=

He had remained within the slums of Midgar for about a week, waiting to hear from the boy if he had been ruled out of the program. It was an agonizing week, one where he had to hide in the shadows away from the people and the Turks that freely roam about here. The stench of vomit, grime, mold, and mako was overpowering here.

Even so Vincent endured. When he received no word, he left Midgar behind. He made it clear that if the boy was rooted out of the program after the first week then he was to contact him. Since it didn't happen, it was safe to assume the boy will have six months of hard core training.

Still for a month and a half he remained close enough to Midgar where he could arrive within a moment's notice. When nearly two months passed he ventured further away as he took up more missions. He was still trying to hide under the radar of the Turks, so he took on minor jobs as a lone mercenary. When needed to, he could put on a rather good disguise so he wouldn't appear out of the ordinary other than the golden claw as his left hand.

After all, the Turks wouldn't look for a mercenary who was actually Gunslinger so close to Midgar. A mercenary was someone unimportant, someone with a job that paid well and allowed Shin-Ra soldiers to do other things besides these tasks of villagers crying out for help. For a company that was aiming to protect the people, it was not doing a successful job at driving to their goal.

And now with three months gone, the training program was halfway done. Now confident enough to travel without a disguise, enough time went by for the Turks to let go with the prospect of catching the assassin in vengeance. Vincent set aside all missions his contacts offered and made his way towards Nibelheim.

He had not gone back since the village was destroyed, therefore he didn't know what to expect once he arrived. It was a long journey, but with some greens he captured and tamed a chocobo to make the trip less lonely and enduring. To make things better the chocobo didn't seem fazed at all by the monsters they encountered on the way. It took a while, but it eventually grew accustomed to the sound of Cerberus firing.

Once he arrived Vincent had expected to see an abandoned village with crumbling walls blackened by time. Instead he found Nibelheim rebuilt, with people thriving within it. There was no doubt in his mind these people were a fake. Shin-Ra employees paid to live here and pretend the village had not been destroyed once before. There was only one reason for the company to go such great lengths to do this.

The mako reactor on Mt. Nibel. Although the mako was not inhabited by employees, it was still an important reactor for Shin-Ra to keep tabs of. It supposedly provided most of the mako Shin-Ra needed, as the mountain was one of the biggest of the world and still had endless amounts to last for centuries. Vincent wasn't quite sure the latter was true or not. Eventually the mako was going to be all used up, just like oil when it has become harder and harder to locate and drill the resource.

Cautiously Vincent moved through the town. It was to his luck he arrived very late at night, when everyone was asleep. Still he was trying to move as quietly as possible with the chocobo, whose large feet could awaken anyone who did not sleep so deeply. Eventually he made it past the last of the houses and in front of the gates of Shin-Ra Mansion. He was not surprised that the original mansion was not torn down, but remained as it was.

The mansion held the image of what the rest of Nibelheim should look like. The paint on its walls was peeling off, darkened by time and weather. The structure appeared sturdy, but he spotted a few spots where the wood was moldy and soggy. There wasn't enough sun for the wood to dry from its ailments.

As Vincent stared at it, he couldn't shake the feeling the mansion was staring right back. It seemed to have a life of its own as it creaked and groaned while ghouls and monsters inside moved about or fought each other for whatever small territory they could maintain. To increase his unease, the demons within stirred. They did not want to be within a hundred feet of this place, and they urged for him to turn back and forget exploring whatever stored information the mansion held.

'_**Must we come here, host? Couldn't you, what's that word…hack into Shin-Ra's main frame and extract the information you need from there?'**_ Chaos was the most vocal about this place.

'_I do not have a powerful enough computer to do so and not leave a trace for the Turks to follow. Besides, there could be one in here that could do what you suggested, if it still works.'_ Vincent was thinking about the computer Lucrecia had used for the Chaos Project.

'_**I know what device you speak of, host. I would rather destroy it than use it. However, I see your point. Let us make this quick. I wish not to linger in this cursed place.'**_

Finally, something he and the demon could agree on that was not Cloud Strife. The chocobo was beginning to show its unease with the mansion, so Vincent got off and removed the saddle and bridle. He fondly handed the last of the greens and let it go. The beast happily chirped and then went back the way they came.

Before Vincent could so much as touch the gates and push them open, they opened by themselves. His unease grew, as it felt like the beginning of a horror film. But he needed to sort through Hojo's old notes here. And if the computer was still salvageable, he could greatly use its power to look through any information the company had about the Strife family. For if he was to look for records of any families, Shin-Ra would surely have it as it was one of their darker habits to obtain all information about any citizens no matter how unimportant they were.

Vincent made his way through the courtyard. Behind him he heard the creaking of the gates closing on their own. Out of instinct the assassin pulled Cerberus out of its holster. With caution he awkwardly opened the front door with the clawed hand and peered in. Dust covered everything where it could settle. The wood inside seemed to have fared better than the ones outside, for they were dry and appeared sturdy despite going through years without proper care.

Seeing no immediate danger, Vincent walked in. He had gone just three feet from the door when it suddenly slammed shut. He whirled around, gun raised and ready, but there was nothing there. He distinctively heard the turn of a lock.

He stood there, confused, but still kept Cerberus aimed at the direction of the door. He could not see or sense anything out of the ordinary. And the demons were just as alert. Surely they would be able to sense whatever slammed the door and locked it. At least they couldn't blame a highly intelligent monster that had thumbs.

After three minutes of just standing there Vincent lowered his gun. Moving about as silent as possible he set out to look for the computer room.

He had a horde of monsters to fight through to get to his destination, which was annoying. Some of them were mutated, and there was one that was huge and swung around in the air as it hung onto the chain of its weapon. That was the only creature where Death Gigus grew impatient during the fight and urged to come out, which Vincent gladly allowed.

He swore Gigus had a superiority complex of some sort. It always seemed to be roused when they fought huge monsters that were a challenge. Maybe it had something to do with the fact Death Gigus was a hulk of a demon.

Eventually he came across Hojo's base of operations. To his surprise there was little dust within this room. Although he could tell this place hasn't been touched in a long time. It just seemed even the dust bunnies avoided the place where Hojo conducted his experiments. The computer was against the far wall, and with a few push of the buttons he coaxed it to life.

The thing still somehow works. With little effort he hacked into Shin-Ra's systems and typed in Strife. He had expected maybe a few folders to show up. Instead there were endless files. This was not a good sign in his book. He scrolled through until he found the first of Hojo's notes. It was dated sixteen years past. He opened the file and began to read.

_Entry No. 1_

_Date XX/XXXX_

_The subject has been comatose due to the large amount of sedatives the Turks shot him with. Although he should practically be dead, his heart still beats. Interesting. Will have to see just how strong this man truly is._

_Entry No. 2_

_Date XX/XXXX_

_Finally, after weeks being under and with the help of mako injections, the subject opened his eyes. He doesn't seem all that surprised that he's alive. He doesn't even inquire about his wife. Strange. Perhaps this was all planned out indeed. _

_He doesn't answer any of my questions. The subject glares at me. I am sure he would attempt to strangle me, but at the current moment his body is still weak from recovering from the coma. I will have to find a way to keep him in line._

_Entry No. 3_

_Date XX/XXXX_

_The subject seems resigned to his fate. He answers any questions, albeit he doesn't give me any answers to go on. Although he glares at me I allow him to walk about, so long as he does not fight when it's time for the injections._

_The mako seems to be the reason why he didn't die from the sedatives. It would seem the subject is the ultimate carrier. Perhaps with a little tweaking, I could create another spectacular result as Project S._

_And thus I am now going to add J Cells infused in the mako cells. _

_Entry No. 3, Later_

_There was an immediate reaction upon first injection with J Cells. The subject screamed and writhed on the table, demanding what was introduced into his system. When asked what he was feeling, the subject claimed to be experiencing burning sensation as the J Cells moved though his body._

_He was in so much pain apparently when large wings sprang out from his shoulders. Before I could properly examine them the subject experienced a mental breakdown. It took some time, but my assistants and I were able to subdue him with sedatives spiked with mako. The subject was out in no time._

_As the subject was being transferred back to his cell, I watched with great fascination as the feathers of his wings transformed. At first they were white. But for some reason the introduction of the J Cells made the feathers turn black. Very intriguing. I will have to collect a sample and take a closer look._

_Entry No. 4_

_Date XX/XXXX_

_Upon awakening the subject has gone through more changes other than the change of color of feathers. His eyes have a permanent glow now, and unlike similar experiments where the pupils become more feline, the subject still retains the oval shape. Though they seem bigger than normal, making him truly appear like the nickname his peers claimed him to be a wolf in human skin._

_The voice changed too. The subject's voice is deeper now, and perhaps a little more sensual. He smiles more often, if one can call it a smile. It appears more of a wolf grinning as if it were presented its favorite meal, but instead of eating it he's toying with it. When the subject laughs, it is cold and humorless, a complete opposite of his personality before the last injection._

_Sometimes the subject hums. Upon listening, it has reminded me of the same tunes Ghast's girl hummed. That woman was one of the last few of the Ancients, as was her daughter. Is it possible I stumbled across another Cetra? If so, then it might be possible to breed him. But the subject already has an unborn child, one that has escaped from our grasp thanks to the subject's wife. Perhaps, if I bid my time, the child will show up on our radar. _

_I will have to take a closer look at his DNA, see if he truly does have Cetra blood in him._

_Entry No. 5_

_Yes! The subject is a definite match to the Cetra lineage! He is roughly at ninety eight percent, more than Ghast's wife and their child. Perhaps with this subject, I can create better soldiers suited for the purposes of Shin-Ra. _

_I have requested the Turks to put up another search for the subject's wife and child. At best they will keep an eye out for them. No matter, even if they aren't found, we still have the father. Although there is one concern that I find disturbing._

_The subject does not take well to J Cells. The body is trying to reject them, so I have stopped the flow of J Cells in the injections. I have increased the number of injections with mako, and that seems to have helped a little. But I'm missing something critical for him to be physically stable. _

_At the current moment the subject is showing great psychological trauma. It has been reduced to growls and snarls. The subject bites anyone who comes too close, nearly bit the hand off of one of my assistants that have grown fond of him. The woman didn't return because of that incident._

_I will have to conduct further research to rectify the subject's behavior and health. I will not let such a rare find slip through my fingers. It could be possible to transfer a few samples from Project S into the subject, since they are almost identical in structure of a perfect carrier. If that doesn't work, then I will have to urge the Turks to find the subject's child. I hope its mother doesn't interfere with the amount of Cetra blood in the child._

There were a few more entries after that, but Vincent didn't have the heart to continue. Maybe later on once he recovered from the shock of reading them. Of all the things he came here for, he did not expect this at all.

'_**Host. We should not have allowed the boy to join the training program.'**_ Chaos growled, the others joining him soon afterward.

Guilt and horror was swirling through his head right now. The demons were right. He shouldn't have allowed Cloud to go. The chances of Hojo taking notice were too great. And surely the Turks are suspicious right now. The boy has no protection from the Turks.

As he recovered, an alarm nearly made him jump out of his skin. The computer was locked out of Shin-Ra's system. Somehow it detected him going through them. With newfound horror, Vincent fled the mansion as fast as he could. The Turks would surely come to the scene of the crime. It will take some time, still Vincent had to put as much distance between him and Nibelheim in order to be safe.

=3=

"Tell me, why am I here again Director?" Genesis crossed his arms, eyes accusing as they shifted from the director to Sephiroth.

"Hold on a moment, we're waiting for one more person to join us." Lazard said without looking up from his paperwork.

Just then the door opened to reveal Lt. Zack Fair. The First was humming a strange tune, one none of the other men have heard. But the moment Zack saw Genesis he paused and straightened his shoulders, smile gone.

"Um…I didn't do it!"

"You're not being accused of something. Not unless you wish to confess anything right now?" The director glanced up from his desk to eye the young First.

"I assure you I've been a good boy, director. So uh…why am I here?" Zack cautiously stepped forward and eyed the red commander suspiciously.

"The two of you sent in a request to take a recruit in as your pupil. The problem here, lies in the fact both of you requested the same recruit, Private Cloud Strife." Lazard informed, setting aside the current papers he had been working on. "While looking through his files, I admit he has some potential. But I wish to know why the two of you show so much interest. I have to choose by either whoever's the most convincing, or go about resolving this issue academically."

"Meaning…?" Zack raised an eyebrow.

"He will grant Genesis the boy as his pupil." Sephiroth informed. "While you may have befriended him, Zackary, you have been a First for not even a year. And you've just started your teaching career as well. Meanwhile Genesis has been a commander for nigh seven years, and has been teaching Materia ever since he became a First. Academically, he has more experience than you. However, you're the one who has a knack of understanding people."

"But…but I sent in my request two months ago! When did Genesis send in his?" The young man pouted.

"Just yesterday. And don't forget I saw him before any of you. Remember Kalm?" Genesis smirked at the sight of a nearly snarling Zack.

"It doesn't matter who sent in the request or who saw him first." Lazard shook his head. "I was about to give you the go ahead when Genesis decided to slap his request on my desk. The only reason I'm debating about this is that I can't ignore what Sephiroth said about you, Zack. You're one of the few I've seen to get him to talk upon first meeting."

At that Zack perked, tilting his head. "Really? What about the commanders?"

"It took Genesis only two days when he realized flirting wasn't going to do any good and had the bright idea to harass him. You can imagine how that turned out. Angeal took a while longer, but you can say he's the glue that holds the other two together aside from the friends with benefits part." Lazard sighed, as if disgusted in saying the last bit out loud. "Anyway, I would like to resolve this today at the very least. There's a disturbing matter that requires my immediate attention. I'll listen to your arguments one by one and then I'll decide. Lt. Fair, if you would please step outside for a moment."

Zack nibbled his lip, but did as he was asked without a complaint. If he was going to convince the director he can mentor Cloud, then he might as well show that he's matured. Even if he matured a little bit, though it might just be enough. As soon as the door closed Lazard turned his attention to the red commander.

"Director, dear Sephiroth has already pointed out my advantages over Fair. However, I would like to add that as good as a soldier he is in the field, he has little to no understanding about controlling Materia. Yes, he can use them, but can he teach Strife to channel the power within the Materia? Just yesterday the boy blew out the entire classroom without even trying."

"A fair point, but what makes you think I should grant him to you?" Lazard made it clear he was not going to play favorites.

"I've seen the Turks shadowing him. If we don't claim the boy now the Turks might try and recruit him onto their side. Although he shows potential in all fields except for the obstacle course that might prove to be his downfall. The Turks will keep him away from the SOLDIER program if he doesn't improve in that field. Under Fair, the boy will become an easy target. You know he's befriended a few of them, he trusts them too much." Genesis was scowling now, he detested the Turks. He only trusted them enough to do their jobs and doing it clean and swift.

"About that, do either of you know why the Turks are shadowing him? This is the matter I'm trying to look into, but Tseng has his reasons locked as tight as the security system." The Director eyed both Genesis and Sephiroth.

At that both general and commander shared a concerned look between them.

"You think it's more than because they're interested of recruiting him." Sephiroth crossed his arms. It wasn't a question but a statement.

"The night the mayor of Kalm was assassinated, Tseng told me he had seen a blond concubine with the mayor before he was killed. He also caught a glimpse of Gunslinger, but he didn't see much other than a dark red blur. And before he could comprehend the mayor was dead, both Gunslinger and the concubine disappeared." Lazard was drumming his fingers into his desk, suddenly feeling anxious. "We think the most probable reason for the concubine to go missing was because he's Gunslinger's apprentice."

"But the assassination was done at night. He couldn't have had a good look at the concubine. And how do we know Gunslinger wasn't looking for a little pleasure?" Genesis pointed out.

"Tseng may not have mako in his system, but he can observe every little detail no matter the circumstance. I could simply be jumping into conclusions here, but there is another reason that has just come to mind." Lazard shrugged. "And people disappearing after a kill made by Gunslinger, that is not his M.O. As soon as the assassination is complete he leaves without a trace. Even if he did decide to take a risk in having a little fun, he would kill the boy as soon as he served his purpose. Thus far, no bodies matching the concubine's description have been found."

"If he truly is an apprentice of Gunslinger, then why would he allow him to join the army? Is he trying to have someone he trusted over anyone else to find a way to sneak Gunslinger in?" Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "I find it hard to believe that man would willingly let his apprentice go. The chances of him being caught are too high."

"While I agree with you there, we can't eliminate the possibility." Lazard was drumming his fingers on the desk again.

"What is the second theory you have about the Turks following Private Strife?" To Sephiroth, the idea of Cloud being an assassin's apprentice was absurd.

"It's about his father, who was a commander and a promising soldier who could have been general. I am sure you've heard of the rumors going around in the higher ranks, yes? I personally looked into it, and to my surprise the man is in fact Private Strife's father. What's disturbing however, is that in the records he submitted to us didn't mention his mother, only his father, but under a different name."

"And how is that disturbing?" Genesis crossed his arms.

"His father died soon after he murdered a great deal of soldiers. During the confusion his pregnant wife disappeared. The Turks couldn't find her, which is no surprise when she was a daughter of a Turk."

"This just goes to show we have to keep Private Strife. If the Turks get their hands on him, they will not let him go. Or if they do, he will be broken beyond repair." The red commander snarled.

"Right. I'm still debating, Genesis. Head outside and send Fair in."

When the red commander was gone, Sephiroth returned to lean against the wall. Since they had a moment, he shared his opinion.

"I would prefer Zackary be the one to mentor Strife. Although Genesis does make a point about the Turks, it is the one drawback that I see about Fair."

Lazard tilted his head, surprised the general would offer an opinion. "You've met this boy, I presume? What is it about him that attracts everyone's attention? Even yours, for that matter."

"He is…an enigma. He is stubborn, and shows he has good intuition with the sword like Zack. Though he has a little more sense than Fair. Still, he is naïve. And yet there are signs he's had serious training of some kind before he came to us."

At that the director sighed. "If that's the case then the suspicion of him being an assassin's apprentice is quite high. And he was trained under not just any assassin, but Gunslinger, who has been a thorn on our side for far too long."

"Assuming he is Gunslinger's apprentice." Sephiroth glared at the blond.

"You really like this boy if you're trying to protect him from the scrutiny of the company. The chances are unlikely, but the odds aren't exactly in his favor." Lazard didn't seem fazed at all by the silent threat. "If you're so fascinated, how come you're not taking him as your pupil? This could very well solve everything, as well as get the Turks off of him."

The director didn't notice Zack entering. The First stopped in his tracks at the inquiry. He looked at the general with a horror at not only arguing against Genesis, but Sephiroth too on mentoring Strife.

"Tempting as that may be, but I will have to pass. You know that anyone who catches my interest will be under the watchful eye of Hojo. I would rather not see the boy become another pet for that man." Though that doesn't mean Sephiroth wasn't seething on the inside about Genesis claiming the boy.

"Hmm. A silent, seething General Sephiroth. I'm surprised you haven't run your sword through Genesis yet." The director shook his head. "When will the two of you end this dangerous dance?"

"When one of us can't do the steps anymore." Sephiroth responded coldly, though he didn't hide the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "As of late, Genesis has been trying my patience. He has yet to face me head on, however."

"I would make a suggestion in allowing Angeal to be around when the two of you clash swords. He's the voice of reason that can get through those stubborn skulls of yours." Lazard looked up, noticing the First. "Ah, Zack. I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"No problemo, el director." Zack grinned, now completely at ease since he didn't have to worry about Sephiroth.

"Anyway, I heard Genesis side. Tell me, what makes you think you'll be a better mentor for Private Strife?"

"Well, I'm already friends with him. Over the past three months he's been getting better in the training program. Though he has a noticeable issue with the obstacle course, but I think I have an idea to rectify that."

At the last bit Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Since when did the puppy learn how to use big words?"

"Must be something in the water." Zack grinned at his own joke.

"Pray tell this plan of yours is not something questionably dangerous, Lt. Fair." Lazard adjusted his glasses, refusing to pinch the bridge of his nose with dread.

"Pfft! Of course not! You wound me, Director!" The First waved off. "Anyway, all I'm gonna do is copy and paste what Angeal did with me. You remember when I was a recruit? I couldn't make that obstacle course, either. In fact, I think my worst record still stands."

"Actually, that record was broken. The irony of it is that it was Private Strife who now has the worst record in Shin-Ra history. So what exactly did Angeal do to get you to pass that course?" The director was interested now.

At that the lieutenant slumped his shoulders. "Well it looks like I've got my work cut out for me then…anyway, the plan is to turn the obstacle course from a Course of Hell into a game of fun. We simply take the fastest chocobo, and have it race through the obstacle course. Yeah, it's still a race, but it's not timed and no one wants to be beaten by a chocobo. Or get chocobo shit in your face, for that matter."

"And this actually worked with you?" Sephiroth tilted his head, puzzled.

"Hells, yeah! It took a while, but eventually I managed to beat the chocobo. And when it was timed I beat the time limit the instructors set." Zack was grinning widely now, the other two men could picture a wagging tail and perked up ears sticking up through those dark spikes.

"An interesting idea, indeed. And it's worked before, as crazy as that sounds. Well, thank you Lt. Fair. Would you mind stepping outside again? Both you and the commander will wait while I council with the general on a decision."

"Sure can do, director!" With that the First left the office with a hop in his step and humming the strange tune from earlier.

"What say you, general? I am no closer to making a decision than before." Lazard was drumming on his desk again.

"I still stand by what I said earlier. However, Genesis does bring up a valid point in warding off the Turks. Still, Zackary's idea on getting the recruit to pass that obstacle course is promising."

"Hmm." After a moment the director glanced at the general. "Do you think they will agree with a collaboration of sorts?"

"They're not friends, as I'm sure you're well aware, director. They would argue over every little detail, as well as drag Private Strife into the whole mess. But what do you have in mind?"

"It's to see which one the recruit responds best with. The commander can help him channel the power of Materia and private sword training. Meanwhile, Zack helps him with the obstacle course, as well as be the one to take him out on missions. All recruits have to experience at least three missions before the mako tests. This way, for a while at least, everybody's happy. And if we still can't choose by the end of the training program, then we'll let Private Strife choose his mentor."

Sephiroth thought over the plan. It was very promising, he couldn't ignore that fact. Though the one flaw is the fact they're talking about Genesis. The man never likes to share. He was possessive of every little thing he owned, and he had no problem getting what he wanted no matter how crass his methods were. It could take a lot of convincing him and a whole lot of Sephiroth's time stalking his friend to make sure he didn't overstep any boundaries.

But will it be worth it? For the recruit, yes, he could see Private Strife benefit greatly from both Fair and Genesis mentoring him. And in the end if he got to choose his mentor, then all the better. It would mean Private Strife made his decision from his own standpoint. Would it make Sephiroth feel any better? No, not really. Genesis still has a chance to become the boy's mentor, after all.

"Let's see if they will agree to this plan of yours first. If not, then you will have to set aside whatever plans you have until you've come to a decision."

When both lieutenant and commander were brought back in, Lazard explained his plan over with them. To their surprise, Genesis was happy to go along with it. He was eager, even. Zack, however, was a little more reluctant.

"So…I have to work with Genesis to mentor Cloud?"

"Essentially, yes. Until the end of the training program of course, and if I still can't choose then we let Private Strife choose."

"Why not let him choose anyway? I mean, a collaboration of a commander and a lieutenant? I'm sorry, sir, but that's a little unusual. Even for me, mostly because it's _Genesis _I have to work with."

"Well if you feel that way then just step aside and let me mentor him. Simple as that." Genesis smirked.

"The only reason I sent in the request was because I knew you were interested, Genesis. You said before the training program started that you were thinking about taking him in as a pupil. But you don't understand how people feel. I learned something about him of which you would care nothing about. If you make a snide comment that cut too deep, he will take it very seriously. And poof," Zack made a motion with his hands to add effect. "You've lost your pupil."

"What exactly did you learn, Lt. Fair? I don't mean to intrude, but there is a delicate situation at hand involving Private Strife and the Turks. They've been following him, and there are two plausible reasons that are both equally disturbing." Lazard frowned, leaning forward with elbows on his desk and hands intertwined before his mouth. The director meant serious business.

"The Turks have been keeping tabs on him? For how long?" Zack tilted his head, completely confused.

"See, this is why I should be Private Strife's mentor. With me, the Turks will give up tailing him." Genesis remarked with a scoff, crossing his arms.

"This is serious, Genesis." Sephiroth reprimanded with a cold tone to his voice.

"Enough, all of you. I don't want a fight in my office." Lazard stood up, intervening before the red commander could argue further.

All men turned away, avoiding the director's gaze. With a sigh the blond man sat back down and adjusted his glasses. This time he did not resist the temptation of pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel the sexual tension between the two higher ranking soldiers, while he and Fair were caught in the middle of it. Lazard was beginning to wonder if he should call Angeal back now even if his mission was not yet completed.

"Lt. Fair, if you would care to elaborate? The Turks are interested in him and I need to know why. If we have all of this sorted out now we can effectively plan how to keep Private Strife away from the Turks."

"Well…can you promise me that none of you will question him about this? He only told me by accident when he had a…momentary breakdown. Even then, there's not much to tell." Zack nibbled his lip.

"Let's pretend we didn't hear the words 'momentary breakdown' from your mouth." Sephiroth crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Why? What's wrong? Does this have something to do with your theories about the Turks tailing him?"

"If we tell you, will you promise not to speak about this to anyone?" Lazard offered.

"…All right." Zack nodded. He hated being out of the loop. And he was good at keeping secrets, for the most part anyway.

And so the director recounted everything he had told the other two. Now and then Sephiroth would add a few details to clear up whenever the young lieutenant was confused. Genesis remained silent during the whole ordeal, which made everyone else feel a bit disturbed. It was usually the only one foretell sign the red commander was going to explode. But as Lazard continued to explain, it became clear Genesis was waiting for it to be over.

"Jeez, Cloud as an assassin? Nah, I can't picture it! He's too adorable and he cares for everyone who is a friend." Zack just couldn't believe there was even suspicion of Cloud being Gunslinger's apprentice. Sure, they have some speculation of evidence, but it wasn't anything solid. Plus, Tseng didn't have mako in his system. He wouldn't be able to see much detail of the blond concubine that night!

"It is a matter we cannot rule out. Tseng told me what he saw when it was still fresh in his mind. I was one of the few he probably called to inform me Gunslinger had taken out one of our employees." In the director's mind the mayor of Kalm was better off dead. Gunslinger saved Shin-Ra a lot of time on setting up scandalous evidence and then locking up the man in prison.

"Okay, but I guess now I'll have to tell you what I know, right? Well, it's not gonna clear anything up. I think it'll just leave you guys more confused, cuz I sure am when it concerns your second theory. Basically? All he told me was that his mother sacrificed herself for them to escape from monsters. He later told me no one else from the town made it, and he wasn't clear as to who the other person who helped him escape."

"Did he mention when this was taken place?" Lazard was curious, as were the other two.

"He said it happened roughly ten years ago, so he was still a little tyke. I had thought that the other person who was with was his father, but now it doesn't make sense at all." Zack shrugged.

"Ten years ago…did he say where he was from?"

"Nope. He only mentioned Rocket Town, but I don't think that's where was from initially." Yes, Zack just lied to the director, but something in his gut told him he should't mention Nibelheim.

"The papers he submitted to us say the same. However, I seem to recall an incident around that time. I will have to look it up later, but if I am correct then it would explain how Mrs. Strife hid from us for so long." The director mentally filed away the suspicions for later use. "Anyway, Lt. Fair, have you reached a decision of this collaboration?"

"Yep! I feel motivated now to collaborate with Genesis of all people. Unless, you don't mind of course?" Zack grinned up at the commander, who was now scowling.

"Fine, I'll play nice with the _puppy_. But don't think for one minute you've won. We have three months to get him into shape. And I say we should let him choose once this is all over."

"Fine with me!"

"I would suggest both of you come up with an excuse as to why you're pushing him. If the other recruits start to think he's won favors of both of you, Private Strife is going to have an ever tougher time." Lazard pointed out.

"I'll just say he's a friend! It's the truth, and I'll invite some of his friends if they need help. Everyone knows I do it all the time with other recruits." Zack was practically beaming.

"I'll pretend I wrote up a punishment to work off his debt, since he is the one who damaged the classroom all by himself." Genesis was smirking, which was never a good sign.

"Don't break the boy, Genesis." Sephiroth warned.

"Sounds like the general has a soft spot for Private Strife. Perhaps I have finally found your boon?" The red commander was close to purring.

"He is nearly ten years younger than I, Genesis. And not to mention a recruit." Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. Still, they both knew the commander was right.

"_My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess."_

"I may be wasting my breath but would you please stop comparing me to that poem, Genesis?"

His only response was the musical sound of laughter. Sephiroth only shook his head. Zack stared between them. He was astonished he had somehow missed the fact Cloud was possibly the reason why these two haven't been as close as they used to. Meanwhile Lazard pretended he did not just overhear the general having interest in a recruit.

=3=

It was the weekend, and since the program was halfway done the company finally allowed the recruits to go out and enjoy the city as another celebration. Perhaps it was the company's way of letting the recruits whatever was pent up in their system out so they can eagerly focus on the task of completing the program. Whatever the case, Cloud was eager to go about with his friends.

What they didn't expect, however, was running into a Turk who was "apparently" off duty.

"Hey, yo! I recognize you lot from that cafeteria incident a few months back." A familiar red headed Turk waved at them.

"What's a Turk doing in the slums?" Xaoli inquired, already suspicious.

"Only place where I can smoke without people tellin' me not to." The Turk shrugged. "Sides, what are you guys doing here? You know the people here don't take kindly to anyone from Shin-Ra, yo."

"Why do you think we're wearing regular clothes?" Carter pointed out. "Besides, we're looking for some guy who sells comics down here."

"Comics? Oh man, haven't laid eyes on one of those since I was a tyke!" The red head grinned. At that, he won Ozzie.

"Then you gotta help us! I'm sure if the rumors are true, the guy has a lot of them." The shortest of the bunch was eager on having a Turk on their side.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Ozzie." Cloud on the other hand, was a little more reluctant. He was positive this was one of the Turks following him. What he found disturbing was the fact the red head was showing himself now, and in front of his friends to boot.

"Aw, c'mon Cloud! He helped us once before, right? If it weren't for him, we'd all have been in a huge fight." Ozzie did have a point, but the blond was not moved.

"But we're training to become a SOLDIER, aren't we? As far as I can see, they don't trust the Turks."

"Meh, it's been that way since the Turks were created, yo. But that doesn't mean some of us can't make friends with you lot off duty, right? So, how about it? I know the slums like the back of my hand, so with my help we'll find this guy who sells books!"

Everyone but Cloud was taken with the idea. Still, the blond accepted the offer like the rest of them but kept a watchful eye on the Turk. Although he had the appearance and attitude of a street rat, he was a smooth talker. Cloud was not fazed about the Turk's inquiries, and instead made a few of his own.

"Okay, if you're so curious, the name's Reno. I can't say how old I am, for my momma didn't keep track of the date I was born. I grew up in the slums. I learned how to steal like the other kids. I was really good at it, too. Then one day I tried to steal from a guy with some fancy suit. Got caught, and instead of being brought to the police he recruited me as a Turk. By the way, are you trying to interrogate me? Cuz that ain't gonna work, yo."

Cloud scowled. "I simply find it suspicious that you happen to be down here. And didn't you just reveal how you became a Turk?"

"I only told you enough to trust me, yo. Why, you still don't trust me blondie? Oh, you wound me so." Blue eyes watered up with fake tears and a pout that was even more ridiculous as Zack's.

"Wait, didn't you have green eyes?" Cloud tilted his head.

"Hm? No, my eyes have always been blue, yo. Are you color blind or something? You should probably check that out. Depending on what colors you have trouble with they won't let you into SOLDIER. Same goes for the Turks."

"I could have sworn they were green, though…"

"Nah, don't worry about it. People always seem to think I have green eyes for some reason. Maybe it's because of the hair. People see it and think, 'My, isn't that the greatest shade of red hair? Green eyes should match that hair, like Christmas!'" Reno grinned.

"Now you're just being a show off." Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Wait until you see how I am in bed." The Turk winked suggestively at the blond, who couldn't hide his blushing.

"Haha! You walked right into that one, Cloud!" Carter slapped the shorter recruit on his back.

Cloud was nearly knocked off of his feet, he hadn't expected that. He sucked in air as the pain in his shoulders intensified. He wasn't aware of concerned voices of the others. His throat constricted as panic began to set in. That slap on the back was the last straw for his wings. They wanted out and they wanted out _now_.

Without offering any explanation the blond broke away from the group and ran. He didn't know where he was going, he knew he needed to find someplace safe and away from prying eyes and let his wings stretch. He heard familiar voices calling after him, trying to catch up.

But after a few quick turns and zig zags he was sure he lost them. Not even Reno would be able to keep up with his speed and endurance. As he ran Cloud did his best to keep the wings inside, bidding them to wait just a little longer. In his head he recounted safe places under the plate Father made him remember.

The nearest one was the graveyard for trains. It was a long ways off, but it was closer than any of the others. And it was full of monsters too. But Cloud was fast. He could get away from them. And with his wings, he could out fly them as well. He just needed to hold off letting the wings out until then.

'_Just a little longer, a little further from now. Almost there.'_ He repeated these phases like a mantra, concentrating solely on them and making his way closer to the train graveyard.

He nearly tripped and fell a couple times when the citizens didn't see him coming. He heard curses, but no one pursued him. Good, he didn't need to make any side trips. He knew he was getting close to his chosen destination as he encountered less and less people.

Within minutes he came upon the graveyard. He avoided confrontations with ghost like creatures and strange birds and rounded a train lying on its side. Cloud didn't think there would be someone else here, and thus he ran into a solid chest and the smell of leather and musk hit his nose hard.

Still leaning on the tall stranger, he looked up and realized this was no stranger at all. He was so surprised he had lost concentration. Cloud gasped, the sound was a mix of surprise, pain, and relief all in one. His wings sprang out, tearing through his shirt. He will have to find a sweater or replace the shirt with another one. Without his consent his white wings wrapped around the man that was holding him steady.

Cloud held his breath as he stared into those eyes, he couldn't look away. He couldn't break eye contact with those feline mako green eyes. He was so entranced by those eyes that he couldn't even admire the handsome face framed with silver bangs. He whispered the name, forgetting to add the man's rank and title before it.

Of all people he could have run into at this moment, it had to be Sephiroth.

=3=

Shado: Oh yes, I ended it right there. No, your eyes are not deceived, I just love playing with my readers. You all should know by now how I _**love**_ to abuse cliffe hangers. So much fun.

Someone pointed out that Reno has blue eyes, not green. I apologize. But I don't know if it's just me, but I see his eyes green O.o Maybe I'm color blind and not know it? Or maybe it's wishful thinking, as Reno pointed out here. Anyway, instead of going back to the chapter where Cloud first meets Reno and editing the part, I've decided to just go along with my confusion and make Cloud confused. It's fun to make that adorable chocobo head confused, yes?

On another note, Vincent has returned! And I've set up how the Turks are going to be on his tail. How are they going to catch him? That's my secret for a few more chapters. *Smiles evilly* XP

I've also set up something many of you would recognize. Remember in_ Crisis Core_ when it's Sephiroth, Genesis, and Angeal having an epic three way battle? Yep. That's gonna play a part here, too. I just gave them a reason why they're doing a random three way battle. They didn't really explain the reasons behind that battle, other than just for the sake to show exactly when Genesis starts degrading. And perhaps to see three hot, best of SOLDIER up against each other.

As for who's going to mentor Cloud, that's also my secret. For now, it's a collaboration. I've already made my decision long ago. So for those who were hoping Sephiroth take in Cloud, I'm afraid that won't happen DX Thus the reason why I had Lazard make the inquiry. Sephiroth's answer is also mine. In addition, I can't quite see the socially challenged man actually _teach_ someone. In my head it would be awkward, or filled with too much yumminess if he's already in a relationship with Cloud.

Oh, and someone asked if this is going to be a ASZGC pairing. I would formally reply through private message, but alas the reviewer was only a guest so I shall reply here. I apologize, but this is going to be strictly Sephiroth and Cloud story. Though I can't help but think how tempting the other one is, but I can't find enough room in the plot to make it fit. But alas, there are other stories of the lovely foursome.

But that doesn't mean the others can't have a taste of the cute chocobo. *Winks*

I believe that is all. So, please leave a review and scream at me my lovelies~


	9. The Bane to Beast

Shado: No, no you are not imagining things. Yes, yes I am updating within the same month of the last update. Been a while since I've done that I think. But this would be such a nice Christmas present, it would be a waste of passing this up. Although I would like to continue editing over this I've been re-editing this chapter so much that I'm just done. My main objective was to create a huge wave of suspense, and I think I have achieved that. So while my OCD wants to add its own two cents in, I'm just gonna leave this as is and watch your reactions.

**Chapter Nine** – The Bane to Beast

"_Deciding whether or not to trust a person is like deciding whether or not to climb a tree, because you might get a wonderful view from the highest branch, or you might simply get covered in sap, and for this reason many people choose to spend their time alone and indoors, where it is harder to get a splinter." _

~Lemony Snicket

=3=

The air was thick and the general was unaccustomed to the staleness that accompanied living under the plate. No wind blew down here, so there were years of buildup of vile smells that reeked all throughout. There should be no reason for the general and first lieutenant to be down here. This mission of theirs was best suited for the Turks. The whole reason why they sent two soldiers at all meant there was danger involved or they were to lure their targets out. Since pretty much everyone who lived under the plate despised Shin-Ra, the director thought it had been a good idea to send the army's icon.

'_Honestly, why should I be out taking the most trivial of missions? I could be spending my time going through paperwork. Or perhaps taking a look through Cloud's records.'_ Sephiroth thought bitterly, eager to get this silly mission over and done with.

They were to search for someone with suspicious connections to AVALANCHE. As of late the group has become more vocal about how the company was using up the planet's resource that's keeping it alive and thriving. Although they have yet to make a move, the fact they have stepped up their protests meant they obtained some vital information. Or perhaps they managed to get someone on the inside to hand over all information that AVALANCHE needed.

"Aw, Seph, you shouldn't look so frustrated all the time! C'mon, this mission is easy. We should get it done in no time."

And Zack's happy go lucky attitude wasn't helping the silver general one bit.

Bad enough the general was sent down here without his consent to go on the mission but he just had to be stuck with Lt. Fair. True, he didn't mind the young man, but each and every mission that they were on together something always happens. And usually it was something bad that completely compromised the mission and the common denominator was _always_ Zack Fair.

"Zackary, you do realize the person we suspect to be a member of AVALANCHE could be anywhere in the slums, right?" The general dead panned.

"Okay, so what do you wanna do? Split up and cover more ground? Meet up halfway?"

Oh what a fine idea, he thought. Allow the puppy out of his sight where trouble follows him around like a magnet. Honestly, the pup was becoming more trouble than he's worth.

"If we do that, I will end up searching for you as well. No doubt you'll allow some little kid steal your wallet." Sephiroth nearly rolled his eyes at the prospect.

"Hey, it only happened that one time. One time!" Zack crossed his arms in disbelief.

"And you had to have the help of a woman who sells flowers for a living." The general added.

"Don't say such a thing with that tone! Aerith is awesome. She's sweet, and pretty, and kind…" Zack sighed like a love struck fool, mind off somewhere else.

Ah, if only he could be as naïve and foolish as Zack. Then perhaps he wouldn't be in a strange bind where he couldn't make a move on the one person who caught his eye. Why was he always attracted to the things unattainable to him? Though he always got what he wanted, one way or another. But this time he might have finally bitten off more than he could chew.

"I get it, Zackary. Now, let's get going on this search. According to mission files, the person in question was last seen heading towards the train graveyard. So I suppose we could start there." Without waiting for a reply Sephiroth headed in that direction.

For the long walk over to their destination it was quiet. For once the lieutenant didn't have anything to talk about. Or perhaps he was still thinking about the girl he was currently set his eyes on. At any rate, the general was grateful for the silence. It helped clear his head through meditation and cleared out all distractions within his mind. In addition he did not need to be reminded of a certain situation that's been causing him headaches more than the miles of paperwork.

So when they finally arrived the general was in a better mood compared to when their mission began. Though the first thing they ran into were a bunch of monsters. Most of them were phantoms with the ability to disappear for a while then come back, to which Sephiroth quickly found annoying as these creatures moved in groups. The moment you thought they disappeared they reappear once again and the battle was still on.

And the more they continued to battle their way further into the train graveyard, the monsters seem more attracted to the sounds of battle. And with the greater number of monsters the general's mood darkened once more. If there truly was someone in AVALANCHE using the train graveyard as a means of hiding or stashing information, he doubted it. Unless the group recruited someone who could sneak past these monsters, Sephiroth doubted anyone would just stroll through here.

'_Perhaps Gunslinger is a member of AVALANCHE…many of his kills has been a large benefit for the terrorist group.'_ An interesting idea. He will have to inquire about it with the director the next time they spoke.

However, if it was true, then it was a possibility that he found quite disturbing. It would mean the environmental fools could gain access anywhere with Gunslinger on their side. Though Sephiroth doubted the assassin would take up the life in the political world. Still, it was the only possible reason why AVALANCHE would choose the train graveyard as a means to meet up or exchange information.

Of course there were other thoughts swirling around in his head. Perhaps a member or two managed to enter into the cadet system. This sort of thoughts did not suit Sephiroth at all. It could all very well end horribly if this situation was true.

And then before he realized, as the general bitterly gone over possibilities, the monsters ceased attacking them. It would seem they had enough sense to know when they're not going to take down two wandering souls when so many attempted beforehand. Now that exploring was made easier, the pair silently split up to cover more ground in the graveyard. So long as the lieutenant was within hearing then Sephiroth didn't need to worry too much.

Zack headed towards a train still on the rail with the doors wide open, humming that strange tune again. The more Sephiroth heard the lullaby, he felt certain it withheld more meaning than a simple tune. As of late, he heard it just about every damn time the lieutenant was around. He heard it so many times the general was beginning to have strange dreams with the tune playing as the background music.

Though he didn't remember what the dreams had consisted of when he woke up, all he could recall was the tune had been a large part of it. A few of those dreams he could vaguely remember blond hair and deep blue eyes, but that could just be wishful thinking on his part. Or somehow his fantasies that were slowly taking a hold of his mind were coinciding with the musical tune that he found annoying yet calming at the same time.

Sephiroth was too distracted as he walked along a train lying on its side he hadn't heard footsteps running his way. He heard them, but he thought nothing of it. He assumed it was Zackary who found something that was shiny. Or if he was lucky, the suspect they were looking for. Out of reflex he readied the moment when Masamune was needed.

Then the footsteps rounded the train and ran straight into him. The force of the impact did nothing for Sephiroth, though he had to wrap an arm around the thin waist to keep the other from falling. He looked down and to his surprise to see Private Cloud Strife. Their eyes met, and he felt the boy's breath hitch.

"Sephiroth…" Said general had to admit, he liked the sound of his name from that tempting mouth. He began to wonder…no, not now. This situation did not call for another fantasy to run through his head. The last thing he wanted was to scare the boy.

He was about to request why the private was running about in the middle of a train graveyard when something unexpected happened. With a gasp something white and feathery sprang out from the boy's shoulders and wrapped around him. Sephiroth had to stare at them for a moment for the sight to register in his brain that yes, those were wings and no, he was most certainly not hallucinating.

The boy stopped breathing at that point. Concerned, Sephiroth returned his gaze to those blue eyes. There was genuine fear in them, and he could feel the dread coming off the boy in waves.

"Relax, Strife. Breathe, just breathe and calm down." Oddly enough his voice did come out as soothing as he wanted it to.

Even so his words had the opposite effect. Now the boy was beginning to hyperventilate. With great reluctance Sephiroth let go of his hold on the delectably thin waist. The boy pulled away and nearly rammed his back against the train in his blind panic. The wings stretched out at full length. Sephiroth couldn't help but admire them even as they took a defensive stance.

'_How can he have wings? Surely angels truly don't exist…'_ Sephiroth studied how the wingspan of those wings was longer than the boy was tall.

"Hey, Seph! I think I found something!" Zack called out, his voice nearly giving the boy another heart attack. Luckily the lieutenant was behind another train, so he can't see them. But if he would he could round the corner and see the unexpected surprise that literally ran into the general.

Those blue eyes widened even more if possible. They stared at the general, hoping, wondering, and fearing what Sephiroth might do. The general raised a finger to his lips before he responded to the younger First.

"I'll be there shortly, Zackary."

He heard an unintelligible response. Knowing the lieutenant won't be coming over to see what's taking the general, Sephiroth gave the blond his full attention. Those eyes showed confusion and gratitude at the same time. And it would seem he had more control over his breathing as he calmed down a bit. Even so his legs were shaking, probably still recovering from the shock or refusing the instinct to run.

"I promise your secret is safe with me. Though I would like to inquire about your wings, now is not the time." Those eyes hardened at his words, it was almost as if he couldn't let his guard down when those wings were out. This reaction was understandable, if he were in his shoes, Sephiroth would be the same.

"To show I truly am genuine, you can take my access card." Very slowly the general produced the key card out. It was his only card to his room and office, but that didn't mean he had other ways of getting inside either of them anyway. "This is the only card that has access to my office, so don't lose it."

The boy tentatively reached for the card, eyes never leaving his. "Are you sure you want to give this to me, sir? If it's the only means of you getting into your office…" The boy spoke so softly, eyes darting to the wrecked train where Zack was waiting on the other side.

"No worries. I could simply punch in a code and I'll be in. You won't have to punch in any codes. Just use the card whenever you decide to give it back. Or if my secretary is around, ask her to let you in. I'll be sure to inform her I'll be expecting you." At that Cloud was convinced and accepted the card.

Delight swelled from within the general's chest. This action proved the boy trusted him enough to accept the access key. He held the card as if it were fragile, blue eyes examining it closely. They heard Zack calling out for the general again, and this time he could not ignore the lieutenant.

Those eyes stared back up at the general, curious and full of wonder as the boy pocketed the card. The blond opened his mouth as if he were to say something, but decided against it. Instead the boy nibbled his lip, a habit he probably picked up from Zack. Sephiroth was against the lieutenant for biting his lip for it showed nervousness. Any sign of confidence wavering would lead to a blade through the chest.

Yet he found the action quite a delectable sight when it was done by Private Strife. As much as he wished to drag this meeting more, he had a mission to accomplish. Plus, this was not the right time or place anyway.

"See you later, Cloud." Sephiroth silently admitted he liked the sound of the boy's name from his mouth.

And with that the silver general turned and left the boy to his devices. But even as he retreated his ears caught the softly whispered thank you. The sound of his voice was genuine, and somehow that made the gesture all the sweeter. Sephiroth smiled a devilish smile. This was perhaps an unexpected accident on a trivial mission, but it was a happy accident. One where Sephiroth now had an edge over Genesis about the boy.

'_And perhaps I shouldn't be so harsh on Zack. Something _always_ happens when he's around in the same mission.'_

His mood brightened when he laid eyes on what Zack found. Although the lieutenant will hate him later, but Sephiroth truly felt that the young man was a puppy in disguise the way he could locate anything special. It was perhaps time for Shin-Ra to finally take the fight to AVALANCHE.

=3=

Reno ran as fast as he could after the blond kid. Cloud was fast for a little guy! He managed to keep up with him until the kid started zig zagging everywhere in order to lose the pursuer. He somehow lost the kid in a crowd. After doing a quick circle of the premises the redhead leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

'_Shit! Boss isn't gonna like this one bit.'_ Reno bit his lip nervously before he punched the wall with the side of his fist.

This was the slums, the slums were basically his home turf damn it! He grew up here. He survived here, stealing whatever he could to grab a bite to eat until he got too cocky. He knew it was too good to be true to see a man in a fancy suit down here in the slums without an escort. Now that he's a Turk he shouldn't have any trouble following the assigned target.

Yet here he was standing in an alley with no idea where Cloud Strife had gone. With great reluctance he pulled out his PHS and clumsily dialed. No, Reno did not just gulp like a nervous recruit as he held the device to his ear.

The man answered not even a second after it rung.

"Hey, Tseng um…heh heh, funny story but uh…I kinda lost the target."

"…"

"I decided to get close to him while he was hanging out with his friends, you know? He knows we've been followin' him so I figured why not show him he can trust us? But like, five minutes later he bailed after he doubled over as if he were either having a heart attack or about to hurl." Gaia, Reno was rambling wasn't he? He should probably stop now.

"…"

"And before ya ask how I lost him, I don't know. That kid has a damn good set of legs, yo. Dunno if he's truly faking the training or something else is truly goin' on. Though I have noticed he's been taking ibuprofen like candy lately…but partner and I haven't seen him get injured during training or anythin' like that." He felt like beating his head against the wall. He should stop talking but his mouth wouldn't obey the command.

"…"

"Then again, he does get pushed around a lot. He's kinda like the runt of the class that gets ganged up by everyone else. I tell ya, he's a tough little guy to make it this far, yo. An' while he does have friends and sticks to 'em like glue he still gets bullied in some form or another. Did I mention that he was fast? He could run like the devil was after him or somethin'."

"…"

Gaia, the silence was killing the redheaded Turk.

"Okay, boss? You haven't said a word and I gotta say, while I love that I've made you speechless and all, it's kinda scaring me yo." Reno nervously laughed.

"…You said he's been taking ibuprofen like candy. This is news to me. How much is he taking?"

"Uh…roughly six to ten pills a day? I dunno…I don't bother counting how many pills he takes. He goes through a giant bottle in a week."

"Reno, that's abnormal for a recruit this far into training. Why didn't you think that was worth mentioning at all?" Oh, dear, he could hear the toe that meant harsh punishment no matter what he said to defend himself.

"I thought it was normal? Even his roommates pack some after drilling. I just thought the kid needed more than the others since ya know, everyone's different and all." Reno didn't even believe his reasoning.

He could almost hear Tseng reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose in distaste.

"That aside, I suggest you call Rude and have him help you search for him. I'm expecting a copy of a report from the general about the lead on AVALANCHE, so I can't help you in the search." The redhead believed Tseng wouldn't come down here anyway, since it was his fault he lost the target in the first place. The man believes the person who made the mistake should make the amends and no one else.

"Just Rude? I mean, what about Cissnei? Can't she help us?" That girl did have a knack of finding people when the other Turks sit around at a loss.

"She's currently tailing someone else. I can't have anyone else take over for her."

"Oh, so in other words she's watching over your girl for you. Seriously, when are you gonna make a move on her? She might be innocent and all, but I bet she's got a wild side to her in bed. She pretty much grew up in the slums, it's to be expected she's picked something up." Reno rolled his eyes as he chuckled. Usually this would rile up a response from the stoic man, but apparently Tseng was having none of it today.

"If you wish to have more help then I suggest Elena. She needs more field work experience."

"Oh, c'mon! She just passed the exams, yo! She's still a baby Turk!"

Reno had another reason to complain. Although he would hit on anyone remotely hot whether be man or woman, personality plays a huge part on whether or not the obsession in question was worth his time. Elena was young and pretty with her blond hair and blue eyes with breasts big enough he could play with. All the qualities he liked best in a girl. Yes, he liked sweet Cissnei, but not in _that_ way. She was more like a sister to him. Besides, her chest was too tiny for his standards anyway.

Upon first meeting Elena, she was quite the looker in his book, but she was a baby Turk. The moment she opened her mouth he was turned off in ever having a wonderful one night stand with her. She was loud, obnoxious, and she would not stop reciting the rulebook of being a Turk as if she memorized the whole thing when one didn't need to read the manual in order to do the job. Reno turned out just fine without reading the book.

"Your mistake, your responsibility. Oh, and Reno? Be sure we don't lose him."

The man nodded as he heeded the warning in the tone that promised him Hell should he fail in finding one elusive Cloud Strife.

=3=

Cloud didn't bother looking for his friends and regroup. He didn't have a proper explanation as to why he ran the way he did. And he didn't feel like he could properly defend himself against the barrage of questions the Turk would definitely have. He didn't want to deal with any of it.

And for a while he hid inside the compartment of a train in the graveyard. He waited for a long time. He was giving his friends enough time to call off their search and go about their business. He also wanted to keep the Turks off his tail for as long as possible. He needed a breather or two without their eyes following his every move. And during all of this he enjoyed the freedom of his wings stretching out, the pain reduced to a dull ache.

In this time he thought over why Sephiroth would hand him his personal key card. An invitation, perhaps? But what for? Sephiroth did say he wanted to know more about the wings, but was that really his motive? Cloud read something in those eyes that reminded him of the expression that mayor of Kalm that night a couple months past. He had only seen the swirls of lust in those cat-like eyes for less than a second, but he was sure it was there.

Cloud was used to such looks that were sent his way, he wasn't naïve to the stares in the showers. And before joining Shin–Ra he would be gawked at in every small town he and Father visited for supplies. Cloud was used to such unwanted attention, but that didn't mean he wouldn't remain cautious of his surroundings. Yet for some reason he felt shaken to know that _General Sephiroth_ held such desires at the sight of _him_.

He didn't know whether he was shaken because he was the sole object of such desires, or because of something deeper. That night he met the general Cloud couldn't deny he felt something then. At the time he thought it was out of admiration. But when he saw that look of lust in Sephiroth's eyes his stomach turned into knots and his heart almost burst. Even now he was still shaking from their encounter.

Sometime later once he felt safe enough to venture out Cloud reluctantly pulled the wings back into his body. They still ached, but now they weren't as tense as before. He didn't have to worry about them coming out on their own for a while. Cloud didn't know what to do now, but he wanted to enjoy his freedom a little while longer.

So he decided to explore the slums. He didn't get a good chance to look around last time the company allowed the recruits outside Shin-Ra premises. As he took in the sights, he was beginning to feel a little depressed. He didn't see until now how the rich were built on the poor and left them to fend for themselves. Everywhere he saw trash littered the ground. Piles of metal junk were everywhere, and whatever few children he saw were thin and begging for food.

What was the glamour of Midgar? He had forgotten. The city was dark and depressing, save for the upper plate. But even there the air was tinted from pollution. Cloud always wanted to know what life was like in the cities, as Father had allowed him little experience in them. But now he felt disgusted by it, Cloud no longer felt any admiration. Instead he felt pity, as well as guilt for applying for the SOLDIER program when it provided him everything these people needed.

It was no wonder Father kept to the countryside. He once told Cloud the cities were depressing, all of them were. He didn't understand at the time but now he did. He missed seeing the stars out at night. He missed the smell of grass and farmland. He missed the hills and fields of chocobos about. He missed Father, and the open skies to fly in. Perhaps that was what Cloud missed the most. All the free sky for him to roam and explore, allowing his wings to come out whenever he wanted and not when he had to.

The blond was beginning to wonder if he should back out of Midgar now when he had the chance. It was fun here, yes, but the dangers here were beginning to catch up to him. Reno would most likely report his strange behavior to the rest of the Turks. They would probably make their move, and Cloud didn't have an escape plan. Well, there was one, contacting Father. But that would mean the possibility of the Turks finding both of them.

Or maybe he should plan ahead when the Turks finally decide to make their move. Cloud recalled Father had a few contacts here in the slums. One of them he remembered was a weapons smith, one of the few Father trusted to hand over Cerberus and leave overnight. There were countless times when foolish mercenaries or strange men collecting guns had an eye for Cerberus. Many of them had met an unfortunate end when they dared to confront Father.

Decision made the blond began to wander about. But this time he had a goal set in mind. Along the way he needed to find a sweater. With little sun reaching down here the slums were colder than the rest of the city. At least it wasn't that kind of day where the heat was unbearable and the slums were being cooked alive.

He found a sweater in a shop that sold numerous of things. The sweater was a little big on him, but it was black and the hood hid his hair and half his face well enough. Cloud also caught sight of a good pair of black gloves that fit him perfectly. He decided to buy them too. This way when he found Father's contacts he wouldn't leave behind any fingerprints. The gloves could also come in handy as replacements should the Shin-Ra ones decide to wear out on him.

With the tears of the back of his shirt hidden and gloves over his hands, Cloud began to set out for these contacts. If his memory was correct, one of them was nearby in Sector 7, which happened to be the area where he wandered in and found his new clothes. As he walked along he fingered the card in his pocket, hardly believing he had an item that was owned by the general.

'_What were he and Zack doing there in the train graveyard anyway? Were they on a mission?'_ It seemed to make the most sense in his mind. Even so the next time he had the chance to escape from Shin-Ra he won't make the decision to use the train graveyard to stretch his wings again.

As he neared the weapon smith's shop, he came across a girl with a basket selling flowers. Cloud paused and couldn't help but stare. He could hear, no that wasn't the proper word, he could _sense_ music flowing around her. The humming was soft and gentle, matching well with her innocent appearance.

She had long brown hair in a braid. Bangs and curls framed her young face. She couldn't be a year or two older than Cloud. Green eyes were bright and full of hope and dreams that seemed out of place for this depressing atmosphere. She was short, shorter than him, but her sandals gave her a few more inches of height. Her pale blue and white dress matched her sweetness as she handed flowers to passing children.

He could tell she grew up here in the slums. There was an air about her that said she was not a sympathizer, but simply someone who wished to pass on flowers all throughout the city as if each one was going to brighten Midgar from a dull city to a beautiful one. And yet she did not seem at all fazed about the dark atmosphere around her.

She sensed she was being watched and looked up. When their eyes met she smiled. She was young, young and naïve to offer such smiles so freely to a random stranger. Cloud suddenly felt like shrinking away, as if he didn't deserve her smiles. He felt he didn't have the right to even lay eyes on her.

And yet he couldn't back away as she made her way closer to him. The humming surrounding her became clearer with each step she took towards him. The music seemed familiar to him, though he was too distracted by her to recognize the tunes. When she stood before him, she reached into her basket for the last flower.

"Hello, there. You look like you could use a flower. Here, take the last one. You don't even have to pay for it. I usually charge 5 gil for young adults or older, but you're a special case." She giggled, as if there was a joke only she knew of.

Cloud could only blink, but accepted the offer anyway. He still felt bad for not being able to pay for the flower though. But before he could reach for his hidden wallet (he knew thieves ran about in the slums), she then turned around and walked away. He noticed a pink ribbon that tied around the base of the braid. Somehow the humming was mostly concentrating around the ribbon that fit her.

As he watched her retreating figure, Cloud had only one thought about her.

'_She's a sweet but strange girl.'_ She was surely one of a kind, but he had a strange feeling she already has someone special in her life. He imagined whoever held her heart was lucky, and hoped he or she would treasure her for all her worth.

When she was out of sight Cloud pulled the hood of the sweater over his head. He was close to the weapon smith, and until he earned the right to be an assassin then he shouldn't reveal his face to any of Father's contacts. And still with flower in hand he continued on towards his destination.

He found the little shack without trouble. It was still standing despite its rickety appearance. It smelled heavily of strong Wutain incense that made his nose lose the sense of smell. Although he personally found the incense annoying, it did well to hide the scent of anyone walking in or out from search dogs. This was probably how this man survived so well under Shin-Ra's front doorstep.

Cloud knocked, and an old man with balding gray hair and thin mustache peered out the window.

"I don't take offers from kids! Go away!"

"Shifu Chang Tai. Do you remember Beast? You have worked on Cerberus. I remember you repaired it when a bullet was stuck inside one of the barrels. I am Swan, Beast's apprentice." Cloud whispered after he made sure there was no one else around to hear. Though he was still being extra careful, even the walls have eyes and ears.

"Ah, yes, yes! I remember Beast! Such a fine weapon he has. Oh, forgive my manners. Please, do come in! Hurry, hurry, before anyone sees you outside my shop!" The man seemed to brighten at the mention of Beast as he hurried to open the door with the sound of unlocking many locks.

Cloud hurried in through once the door opened. He nearly choked as the incense was even stronger inside than outside. But to be polite he refused to cover his nose. And for once in his life he was grateful for being petite, or else he would have to bow his head to make room for the low ceiling.

"So, young Swan, how is Beast these days? I notice you've come on your own accord. Does Cerberus need some work done again?" Chang Tai began to pour some tea he had already prepared.

"He is fine, Shifu. And no, Cerberus doesn't need any work done. Beast gives his thanks for doing an excellent job on it as always." Cloud smiled briefly, accepting the offered cup of tea. "I was hoping if you had any guns I could use. I am in need of one that's better suited for my skills."

"Ah, you wish for a gun that's accurate for long distance but can be easily hidden, light weight, and no one can trace it back to you should it be left behind?" There was a curious glint in those eyes.

"How did you know?" The young man tensed and at full alert.

"Ah, don't worry! Beast sent me a commission three months ago to create a few weapons for you, and in the note he gave a description that I just gave you. Here, let me get you one of them."

"Wait, he requested more than one weapon made for me, Shifu?" Cloud watched as the man went to the back. He heard shuffling and things moved around before the little old man came back with a small box.

"Yes, yes, he requested I make a gun and a sword for you. As you can see, I have finished the gun. In fact, you have perfect timing, young Swan, for I finished this just a few days ago! I already have plans set for the sword, and I have just started working on it. But I am afraid it will take a quite bit longer than this little beauty here." Chang Tai tapped the box.

"It was supposed to be given to you as a birthday present, but I suppose it's all right to bend the rules a little, no? After all, if you came here in need of a weapon, then I am sure Beast would understand you need it now. I have designed and created this gun, poured all the care in the world." The old man was nearly crying, as if he couldn't believe he had created such a weapon even if it was right in front of him.

"What is it called? Surely this weapon has a name. And why did he commission weapons made for me? I'm still just an apprentice. He wouldn't commission weapons unless…" Cloud wondered, staring curiously at the little black box.

"Unless the assassin believes the apprentice is ready for the final test to become a full fledged assassin. Yes, yes, he felt you were close to being ready." The old master bobbed his head a couple of times with a wide grin on his wrinkled face.

Cloud couldn't quite believe what the old man had said. Father thought he was almost ready? The very idea was a shock to him. He honestly thought he had roughly ten more years. On average an apprentice would have to commit twenty to thirty years of their lives in training.

Perhaps it could be that he had been raised to become an assassin since he was a child. That could have possibly given him an edge. Still to believe he was so close to become an assassin was overwhelming. Then he realized something.

"You didn't answer my first question Chang Tai. What is this weapon called?"

"It is called Black Swan."

=3=

It was just another normal day for Cissnei. Go over paperwork at her desk in the office in the morning with a fresh cup of sweet coffee and work until lunch. Once she had her favorite cheese and ham sandwich with crackers and cream cheese on the side she would head down into the slums to tail Aerith Gainsborough. At around eight o'clock she takes the train back to the upper plate to turn in her report and then work on some more paperwork that was set on her desk during her leave.

She didn't understand why the Turks were interested in this sweet girl she was following. It was just part of the job to not ask questions once given the objective in a mission. Cissnei has been aware of the Turks shadowing Miss Gainsborough since she graduated from training. When Tseng assigned her to follow the girl Cissnei was confused, as she was never asked to do so in her career. This particular mission Tseng took upon himself or assigned to Reno and Rude when he couldn't.

Apparently they were doing important missions of their own that demanded their attention, so Cissnei happily accepted. Her comrades had enough on their plates, and she had been a Turk long enough to be trusted in watching Miss Gainsborough. Her basic objectives were to watch for any change of behavior or habits, and if there were any danger to the target then she was to immediately interfere. Easily enough, and at the time being she didn't have any important investigations that needed her full attention. Plus it gave her an excuse to get out of the cramped atmosphere of her desk.

Though today started out normal, she came across something odd.

Or to put it more simply, _someone_.

It was about six when she witnessed an exchange between Miss Gainsborough and a boy around her age. Cissnei watched curiously as the girl handed over a flower to a complete stranger without accepting payment. She saw he was about to reach for a hidden wallet when the flower girl turned and left him where he stood. Normally Cissnei would have followed after her target at this point.

But something in her gut told her to watch him for just a few more seconds. The way he pulled the hood over his hair seemed suspicious. It was then she realized he was also wearing gloves. He wore dark clothing overall and what confused her was that he was well kept in appearance. His face was clean, and even if his hair was wild it was clear he washed the spikes daily. He also seemed fit if a little underweight, and she was sure those boots were recruit combat standard.

And so Cissnei broke away from her mission for the first time in her career as a Turk. A huge part of her felt guilty, but she was confident Miss Gainsborough was heading home right now before the night became too dark. The flower girl was too smart to stay out alone while the crazies come out and play. Cissnei was known best at being in tune with her instincts, which was a trait the Turks encouraged with great enthusiasm. If she found something important then she will take immediate action.

And so she followed this boy, being extra careful as she moved about in the shadows. He seemed more alert to his surroundings than Miss Gainsborough ever would. She was careful to step lightly when he stepped, never faltering the rhythm as she stealthily followed. She avoided puddles and any chance of the fabric of her suit rustle or rub against any obstacles.

Cissnei was about to give up and leave him be when he reached his destination. The boy knocked on the door of a little shack, of which an old man who was clearly Wutainese opened the window to shoo the boy away. Her brow tightened as he cautiously glanced around him before he began whispering to the man and within seconds the Wutainese was welcoming the boy with open arms.

Was it just her, or did that man have a lot of locks behind that door?

After the boy was let in she waited a few minutes to make sure the boy wasn't going to be shoved out. She could slightly see them from the opening of the window, but she couldn't hear the faint whispers. Cissnei couldn't risk being seen so she had to take the long trip around in order to get close to the door. She was afraid any sudden movement would attract their attention.

Even as she got closer she was still having trouble hearing their conversation. She could hear bits and pieces but nothing made any sense. At this point she was at the side of the shack, as she was unable to maneuver behind it with the wooden fence laced with wiring giving the shack a huge backyard. Now, why would a man who lived alone in a tiny shack need a large backyard?

Filing away the information for later, Cissnei dared to scoot closer towards the door and pressed an ear against the wall. She was careful her hair and suit didn't make a sound as she pressed closer still and listened in.

"…I suppose it's all right to bend the rules a little, no? After all, if you came here in need of a weapon, then I am sure Beast would understand you need it now. I have designed and created this gun, poured all the care in the world."

Beast? Was that a code name of a mercenary or an assassin? With an alias like that it could go either way in her opinion.

"What is it called? Surely this weapon has a name. And why did he commission weapons made for me? I'm still just an apprentice. He wouldn't commission weapons unless…" That was clearly the boy's voice, the tone and pitch was about right for a young man.

And there was something there, something important he was about to say. Cissnei stopped breathing, afraid he realized someone was right outside listening into a hushed conversation. She almost sighed in relief when the Wutainese answered.

"Unless the assassin believes the apprentice is ready for the final test to become a full fledged assassin. Yes, yes, he felt you were close to being ready."

Cissnei put a hand over her mouth to stop her gasp of shock alerting them. So Beast _was_ an assassin! And it would seem this boy was the apprentice, possibly even part of the recruitment program. But the boy could have gotten those boots from anywhere. They certainly looked like they've been through hell and back, but right now she couldn't cross out the theory.

There was silence for a few agonizing moments. Cissnei was panicking in her head as she hastily checked her surroundings to be sure they hadn't caught on about their stalker right outside the door. Years of hardcore training taught her to never panic, but she couldn't help it with something as dangerous as this. Luckily that same training prevented her from making any sound despite her shaking limbs. She had to know something more about this apprentice other than his appearance and the sound of his voice.

She needed a name of significance like his name in the Underworld.

"You didn't answer my first question Chang Tai. What is this weapon called?"

Good, maybe this would be of help to her. If she couldn't get a name of the apprentice, then she has the name of this weapon smith. The name of the weapon in question that was created for Beast's apprentice was an added bonus.

"It is called Black Swan."

After that the conversation went about how to use and conceal the weapon. Although Cissnei had been taught how to shoot with guns, her preferred weapon of choice in the field was her trusted shuriken, _Rekka_. And it has been years since she was in training and so the language of guns seemed foreign to her. But there were some characteristics that stood out to her. She quickly latched onto those bits of information and filed away.

And some ten minutes later the boy left the shack. At this time Cissnei had already left him, as she couldn't find anything else out about the apprentice. She also couldn't contain her excitement any longer as she quietly put as much distance between her and the shack as fast as she could before unfolding her PHS.

"Tseng? It's Cissnei. You are not going to believe on what I have stumbled upon."

=3=

Shado: Part of the reason why I kept trying to edit this over and over was because of the pace I think. It keeps shifting from slow to fast and then repeat. This method is a little foreign to me, and it's something I picked up from my English class that I just finished this semester. I like the idea but doing it for my own work is a little weird, though I still like the effect overall. I'll try and not make this become a habit, I swear things will normal out next chapter.

And while I normally don't reveal anything about the next chapter, I will make an exception since this is sort of a late Christmas present.

Cloud gets some hardcore training from Genesis and Zack. And it's going to be lovely~

Not in a yaoi sense, but in a hilarious sort. I've been waiting forever to get to this point about Cloud's training. And there might be some hints as to whom he chooses as his mentor...

Anywho, please leave me a review~


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